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GIFT, OF

]My doctrine 19 not mine, but bis that sent me

WRITINGS BY ANNIE RIX MILITZ

SERMON ON THE MOUNT . , $0-5t

PRIMARY LESSONS IN CHRISTIAN LIVING AND

HEALING . 1.00

ALL, THINGS ARE POSSIBLE 10

NONE OF THESE THINGS MOVE ME 05

THE WONDERFUL WISHERS (for Children) . . .15
I AM MYSELF 05

For Sale by all Dealers in Metaphysical Literature

PUBLISHED BY

THE MASTER MIND PUBLISHING CO.

649 SOUTH FLOWER STREET,
LOS ANGELES, CAL., U. S. A.

THE TROW PRESS, NEW YORK

preface

TG^MERSON says in his essay on History:
'*"' " There is one mind common to all indi-
vidual men. Every man is an inlet to the same
and to all of the same. . . . Who hath access to
this universal mind is a party to all that is or can
be done, for this is the only and sovereign
agent."

This is the Mind of the Spirit, the same
Mind that was in Christ Jesus. From It comes
all inspiration and by It alone can Its utterances
be interpreted.

Believing that the divine Mind is the same
to-day that it was in the ages past, and that it
is no respecter of persons, I have applied myself
to receive interpretations of all the holy words
which have come to my notice and which I be-
lieve to be inspired, since they cause men to live

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preface

holier and happier lives. Thus have I studied
the scriptures of the Hindus, the Chinese, the
Egyptians and the Persians, as well as those of
the Hebrews, and of the Christians.

Someone has said of certain writings in the
Bible: "I know that they are inspired because
they inspire me." This seems a safe criterion
of inspiration.

The result of my faith in the Spirit of Inter-
pretation being one with the Spirit of Inspira-
tion, and the consequent daily application of
heart and mind to receiving its light, has been
the opening to me of the flood-gates of scriptural
understanding, so that the fullness of blessed
knowledge that has already been received would
take years to record.

The following commentaries were written at
the request of the editor of Universal Truth, and
appeared in that magazine in the year eighteen
hundred and ninety-three. They are condensed
and brief, the writer believing that the reader
also has the Spirit of Interpretation, and often

preface

needs but a hint to light his torch and give him
the joy of receiving directly from the Spirit
without the intermediary of a teacher.

When you study this little volume, my prayer
is that you may feel the presence of the Master
whose words have so transformed this world,
even as He promised, "where two or three are
gathered together in my name, there am I in
the midst of them." You are one, the little book
another, met in his name, therefore the spirit of
our Lord Jesus Christ is upon you.

A. R. M.

HOME OF TRUTH,
ALAMEDA, CAL._,

September 20, 1904.

CONTENTS

PAilE

Jesus Christ . . ix

The Beatitudes. Matt. 5:3-12 ..... 4 , 1

The Salt and the Light. Vs. 13-16 10

The Law. Vs. 17-20 12

Salvation from Anger. Vs. 21-26 .... •% >.. 18

Purity. Vs. 27-32 30

Swear Not at All. Vs. 33-3? . . ^ f . . . . . 36

The Doctrine of Non-resistance. Vs. 38-42 ... 39

Overcome Evil with Good. Vs. 43-48 . .. . 49

In the Secret Place. Matt. 6:1-4 55

Prayer. Vs. 5-8 . 63

The Lord's Prayer. Vs. 9-13 . . . . ... 67

Forgiveness. Vs. 14, 15 76

No Sad Appearances. Vs. 16-18 . „ 0 . . . 77

Contents

PAGE

True Valuation. Vs. 19-21 . . . . ... .80

Concentration upon God. Vs. 22-24 84

No Thought for Worldly Welfare. Vs. 25-34 . . 87

Free from Judging. Matt. 8:1-5 .94

Good Judgment in Ministering. V. 6 . . V . 99
Divine Persistency. Vs. 7, 8 . . . . .... 104

The Will of God. Vs. 9-11 . .... . . 107

The Golden Rule. V. 12 . . . . . . . . 110

The Way and the Door. Vs. 13, 14 . . . . .113

Fair Words and False Thinking. Vs. 15-21 . . .119

Works without Love. Vs. 22, 23 127

Hearing and Doing. Vs. 24-27 . ... . . .129

JESUS CHRIST

VERY man is an Idea of God, a thought of
the divine Mind, sent into the world upon
a great mission. In proportion as he carries out
that Idea a man becomes universal, and is im-
mortalized in the recognition of mankind, which
claims him for its own; for he has ceased to
belong to any one race or people, or to live in
any one time or place.

Jesus Christ represents the crowning Idea of
man and God, the Truth that saves man from
sickness, sin, sorrow, and death. He is that
Truth within us that says: ffl am the Son of
the Most High God. I am spiritual, not mate-
rial; immortal, not mortal; holy, not sinful: and
all dominion over the whole universe is given

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unto me, and all things that my Father hath are
mine."

As this truth gains ground in the heart, and
becomes master over the carnal and lower self,
Man proves his divinity; and the history of Its
ongoing within man is depicted in the life of
Jesus Christ, from Its immaculate conception
to Its ascension and identification with God, the
universal Good.

The many years of Jesus' life that are un-
known typify the silent, invisible workings of
the divine Man within.

The coming forward of Jesus to minister
openly signifies the stirring of the inner nature
that is beginning to be recognized by the outer
self. Then many thoughts begin to run to and
fro in the mind in pursuit of this one great Idea;
or, as it is said in the Gospel, (( and there fol-
lowed him great multitudes of people from Gali-
lee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem,
and from Judea, and from beyond Jordan."

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(From the Gospel according to St. Matthew)

Chapter 5: verse 1. And seeing the multi-
tudes, he went up into a mountain: and when
he was set, his disciples came unto him:

Mountains are symbols of exalted states of
mind. When our thoughts are concentrated
upon a great truth we are lifted up in mind
preparatory to an outpouring of divine revela-
tion and instruction.

2. And he opened his mouth, and taught them.,
saying,

THE BEATITUDES

The nine blessings called the Beatitudes are
divine announcements of the presence of the
Good in the midst of evil, of joy in the place of

mourning, and happiness in the place of misery;
" to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of
joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the
spirit of heaviness " ( Is. Ixi : 3 ) .

Hear, O children of the Most High, says the
Truth to all you that appear so desolate, desti-
tute, and abandoned; so humiliated, grief -strick-
en, hungry, and persecuted: "The Lord shall
give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy
fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou
wast made to serve" (Is. xiv:3).

The word "blessed" is makarios in the Greek,
and should be translated "happy," as it is in
Romans xiv:22: "Happy is he that condemneth
not himself in that thing which he alloweth."
By substituting the word "blessed" for "happy"
in this last text one can discern its true signifi-
cance in the Beatitudes.

These blessings are not arbitrary awards,
but they are the result of the coming of Truth
to the soul, and its recognition by men upon the
earth.

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3. Blessed are the poor in spirit: for their' s is
the kingdom of heaven.

He is poor in spirit who realizes that as a mor-
tal and a man of flesh he is nothing. He makes
no claims or pretensions as a man of the earth,
calling himself neither good nor evil, but simply
nothing.

Jesus was poor in spirit. As a human being
he never laid claims to either good or evil. He
denied goodness: "Why callest thou me good?"
he asked. He denied evil: "Which of you con-
vinceth me [convicts me] of sin?" he asked.

In every thought, word, and deed he denied
himself when looking from the standpoint of
the mortal. "I do nothing of myself," he says;
"I speak not of myself; but the Father that
dwelleth in me, he doeth the works."

True self-denial brings the clean, free, empty
sense of being that is preparatory to being filled
with the Holy Spirit.

Whatever is receptive or whatever is to take in must
be naked and empty. It is the vacuum that causes the

water to flow. A cup being perfectly empty, even of
air, would forget itself and be drawn into heaven.
Therefore when the spirit is free, in right loneliness, it
forces God. Eckart.

It is that emptiness that causes, through its
irresistible drawing power, the substance of God
to pour forth into the divine manifestation called
His beloved Son. This emptiness is realized
through complete self-denial and willingness to
ascribe all your goodness to your God, the true
Self, and claiming nothing as a being separate
from God.

The soul that is completely empty of all that
is not of God is called the Virgin Mary. Hear
her sing: "My soul doth magnify the Lord, and
my spirit hath rejoiced in God, my Savior. For
he hath exalted them of low degree. He hath
regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for,
behold, from henceforth all generations shall call
me blessed."

I declare by good truth and truth everlasting, that in

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every man who hath utterly abandoned self, God must
communicate Himself, according to all His power, so
completely that He retains nothing in His life, in His
essence, in His nature, and in His Godhead; He must
communicate all to the bringing forth of fruit. Eckart.

4. Blessed are they that mourn: for they^ shall
be comforted.

Now are the mourners blessed, not because of
their mourning, but because of the comfort that
the Truth is bringing to them. Here is a para-
phrase of this beatitude which may be explana-
tory of it: Blessed are the sick, for they shall be
healed. They are blessed, not because they have
been sick, but because health is coming to them.

Truth reveals to the mourners that their loved
ones are not lost, but are safe in the omnipres-
ence of the Good, who lets not even a sparrow
fall to the ground without receiving its little life
into His own. They that mourn for their sins
see themselves freed from the bondage through
the Truth that sin has no power in itself, and is
a delusion that can no longer deceive them.

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5. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit
the earth.

Meekness is freedom from pride, ambition,
and covetousness. It is that spirit in man that
cares nothing for honors, riches, glory, or power,
and thus receives them all. It knows no jeal-
ousy or envy, seeks obscurity and oblivion, and
does not shun annihilation.

Moses was once requested by Joshua to stop
some young men among the Israelites from
prophesying, but he replied to him: "Enviest
thou for my sake? would God that all the Lord's
people were prophets, and that the Lord would
put his spirit upon them."

"Moses was very meek, above all the men
which were upon the face of the earth," there-
fore he inherited the earth. By his word were
millions of people clothed, fed, and sheltered
for years in a barren desert.

Meekness claims nothing for its own apart
from its fellow beings, therefore meekness never
steals even in thought.

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When abstinence from theft, in mind and act, is com-
plete in the yogee, he has the power to obtain all mate-
rial wealth. P at an j all.

Meekness is the divine cure for poverty.

6. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst
after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

All hunger and thirst is, in reality, after
righteousness. He that thinks it is material
bread and wine he desires is under a delusion,
and must be undeceived by hearing the truth
about himself. Eating meat and drinking wine
bring temporal satisfaction only, to be followed
by hunger again. But to realize that the word
of Truth satisfies all appetites is the complete
healing of all forms of drunkenness and lust.

In Christ appetites are not destroyed nor de-
sires killed, but all are redeemed by getting sat-
isfaction in God, instead of in material things.

7. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall
obtain mercy.

Whoever will never give another pain either
by thought, word, or deed, is exempt from pain

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forever. He who will not punish another,
. whether he merits it or not, is freed from all
affliction.

8. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall
see God.

The pure in heart are they who see the Divine
only in all. The Pure One in us is the one who,
from the beginning, always beholds the face of
God. It is our first and real nature, knowing
neither good nor evil, but only God. It is our
childlikeness. The purely childlike never see
impurity, for to the pure all things are pure.
He who sees God in everyone and in everything
is pure in heart.

9. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall
be called the children of God.

Peace is God. Peacemakers are the mani-
festors of God. The manifestor of God is his
child, the Son.

10. Blessed are they which are persecuted for
righteousness9 sake: for their 's is the kingdom
of heaven.

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11. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you,
and persecute you, and shall say all manner of
evil against you falsely, for my sake.

12. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great
is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they-
the prophets which were before you.

Learn this of the Truth, O man: that under
all circumstances you are blessed; not only when
they are harmonious and your lot plainly happy,
but also in the midst of evils. Your rejoicing
is not in the persecutions or because of the tor-
ment, but because you know how to rise above
them all, and take all the sting out of insult and
accusation. True Christianity never sorrows,
nor is sad, for it sees all affliction and persecu-
tion to be nothing, and powerless to harm those
that will not acknowledge their power because
of allegiance to the true power — Good, the one
God. Such attitudes of mind toward evil. carry
one through all things triumphant and without
pain.

Prove that you can keep your joy in the midst

of sorrow and hold your peace in the midst of
torment, and you know from thenceforth that
no man can take your joy from you. You have
the fountain in yourself.

THE SALT AND THE LIGHT

13. Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt
have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted?
it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast
out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

Salt preserves and purifies. It not only has
a taste of its own, but it enhances the taste of
everything else. As the minister of Truth, man
purifies the earth of sin and disease, and pre-
serves life, health, and holiness. All talent,
genius, and every form of Good is uplifted and
enhanced by salting it with Truth.

The savor or taste of salt is its spirit. Those
ministers who give the theory or doctrine of
Jesus Christ without doing the works are salt
without savor. They become as the salt that the

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Jews used to gather at the Lake Asphaltites,
and put upon the floor of the temple to prevent
slipping in wet weather. They are not useless,
they keep the people's feet from slipping; but
there is a higher office yet for them.

14. Ye are the light of the world.

I AM the light of the world. One light in all,
even God.

A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

15. Neither do men light a candle, and put it
under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giv-
eth light unto all that are in the house.

16. Let your light so shine before men, that
they may see your good works, and glorify your
Father which is in heaven.

One who has the Truth cannot be concealed.
Let no man hide the revelations of God given
to him. A light is not to be put under a corn-
measurer (a bushel), so the Truth is not to be
hidden, but is to be given in appropriate and
useful language (the candlestick) to the world,
so as to light all those in the house, the state of

mind ready to be benefited by it. Fear has too
long kept many of the great truths from peo-
ple's understanding. Now are all things being
revealed.

THE LAW

17. Think not that I am come to destroy the
law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy,
but to fulfill.

18. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and
earth pass, one jot or tittle shall in no wise pass
from the law, till all be fulfilled.

19. Whosoever therefore shall break one of
these least commandments, and shall teach men
so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of
heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them,
the same shall be called great in the kingdom
of heaven.

20. For I say unto you, That except your
righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of
the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter
into the kingdom of heaven.

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The Pharisees were the people of the church
who were very strict in fulfilling the letter of
the law, but who were not entering into the
promises which had been given to. those who
should keep the law. They had been promised
immunity from all diseases, famines, and pov-
erty. They were to be free from every bondage,
and to be honored and enriched without limit.
But they were filled with sickness, leprosy, and
devils, and in bondage to a people that wor-
shiped strange gods. Many of their number,
realizing this, made the mistake of thinking
more laws, and stricter, were required in order
to get the favor of Jehovah, and they made
harder laws and bound more burdens on them-
selves, until they were in abject bondage in
every way, and saw not how to get out of their
condition; all this because they were ignorant
of their own miraculous powers.

The law had been given to Moses to lead men
out of their sorrows and privations, and not to
put them into bondage; and this is true of all

the teaching of any great master of life. The
laws of Jesus Christ are for the freeing of the
race. But men's own false interpretations of
his words have attached penalties and condemna-
tions to them.

"Do not think I will accuse you to the Father.
I judge no man. The word that I have spoken
shall judge him," through the meaning which
he shall give it.

The law is fulfilled and passes away when the
spirit of it is understood and obeyed. The whole
teaching of Jesus is how to think in the heart,
how to fulfill the law in the mind and heart. If
a man will never be angry in his heart or destroy
with his mind he will not kill outwardly. If a
man ceases to have lustful thoughts he will not
commit adultery. This is true of every law;
fulfill it in spirit and you will surely fulfill it
in letter. But the letter of the law is not abol-
ished until all — both the spirit and the letter-
is fulfilled. He who thus fulfills them is as the
Christ, a law unto himself, and above the law.

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The statement made in the nineteenth verse
is one of the most mystical and wonderful of
Jesus' declarations. Ponder it well in your
heart. Who is he that is in the Kingdom of
Heaven? It is the Son of Gdd, your divine Self.
"No man hath ascended up to heaven, but he
that came down from heaven, even the Son of
man which is in heaven" (John iii:13).

Who, then, is least in the Kingdom? The Son
of God.

And who is the greatest? The Son of God;
"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and
the end, the first and the last" (the latest, the
least).

Who, then, teaches men to break the com-
mandments, and who to fulfill them? Even the
same one, the Son of God. Jesus showed men
how to break the law of the Sabbath in fulfill-
ing it, and somewhere in his life he has taught
how to break the bondage and limitation of
every law by right fulfillment.

How does Jesus testify that the Son of God

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is the least in the Kingdom of Heaven? By his
words: "Among them that are born of women
there hath not risen a greater than John the
Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the
kingdom of heaven is greater than he" (Matt.
xi:ll).

Combining these statements of Jesus we have :
Whosoever therefore shall break one of these
least commandments, and shall teach men so, he
shall be called greater than John the Baptist.

The Scripture cannot be broken but by the
master hand who knows how to fulfill in abol-
ishing.

The righteousness that exceeds the righteous-
ness of the Pharisees is that goodness which is
above external form, and independent of it. It
is that understanding of right thinking which
is the Way. It is knowing neither good nor evil,
but God alone.

When one thinks he cannot walk in the right-
eousness of Jesus Christ, then let him fulfill the
righteousness of Moses.

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When Tau [the Way] is lost, virtue comes after;
when virtue is lost, benevolence comes ; when benevolence
is lost, justice comes after; when justice is lost, pro-
priety comes after. For propriety is the mere skeleton
[the attenuation] of fidelity and faith, and the pre-
cursor of confusion. Lao-tsze, with translator's com-
ments.

This applies to every act of one's life. If you
cannot do it in the perfect way, do it in the vir-
tuous way; if not for virtue's sake, then for
charity's sake; if not for charity, then for jus-
tice; if not for justice, then for the sake of pro-
priety. It is the least, but it is better than no
good motive at all.

The parable of the Worldly Steward, in
Luke, sixteenth chapter, carries the same in-
struction.

The highest justice or righteousness is after
the manner of Jesus Christ, but there is a jus-
tice or righteousness of the world. If you can-
not attain the first, follow the last.

The righteousness of the world brings tern-
17

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poral happiness, but the righteousness of Jesus
Christ is the entrance into the Kingdom of
Heaven here and now. The righteousness of
the world, or the Pharisees, as Jesus expressed
it, is an outward keeping of the moral or ethical
laws. But in order to enter into the Kingdom
of Heaven one must know how to keep the law
inwardly, which is a righteousness that exceeds
the old way, and is as high above it as the heav-
ens are above the earth. This inward fulfilling
of the law is the subject of the remainder of
Jesus' discourse upon the mount.

SALVATION FROM ANGER

21. Ye have heard that it was said by them
of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever
shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:

"Ye have heard." Jesus is speaking to men
who have heard, and been trained under the
Moral Law. Those who, in the world, have been
educated, either by themselves or by others, to

follow a code of ethics or any laws of morality
are, spiritually speaking, Israelites, or Jews.

The Christ doctrine is always preached first
to Israel (Matt. x:5, 6; xv:24), those having
some kind of an understanding of what is law-
ful and right, and to a certain extent following
it. "Salvation is of the Jews" (John iv:22)
signifies that the steps that lead up to the Way
consist in keeping the letter of the Moral Law.
But to walk along the Way is to know how to
fulfill the spirit of these same laws, and then to
fulfill them.

Jesus does not give any new laws, but takes
those that the people already have, and shows
the spiritual fulfillment of them.

Many people would not kill with their hands,
or by any external act break that law: "Thou
shalt not kill," yet justify themselves in holding
angry and revengeful thoughts toward others.

22. But I say unto you, That whosoever is
angry with his brother shall be in danger of the
judgment: (Revised Version).

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The old version has the phrase "without a
cause," which is now considered an interpolation,
and should be omitted. It destroyed completely
the force of Jesus' injunction, for there never
was an angry man but what thought he had
cause for his anger at the time of his passion.
The instruction of Jesus is that one who is
angry is just as much liable to the judgment as
one who kills outright. It is not sufficient to
refrain from angry deeds or words; one must
be perfectly free from angry thoughts.

What is the judgment to which man is liable?
Does Jesus refer to a day some time in the far-
away future, or to some one great act of doom?
Not at all; for he says, "Now is the judgment of
this world: now shall the prince of this world
be cast out" (John xii:31), thus declaring judg-
ment to be already established in the world, and
to be a matter of daily occurrence and not a
future event.

What is the judgment anger brings to man?
Confusion and inharmony, both in his circum-

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stances and in his body. Why cannot men see
the close connection between the thoughts of the
mind and the organs of the body? When strong
passion fills the heart and mind, see how the cir-
culation of the blood is changed; how it rushes
to or recedes from the face; how it chills with
fear or renders feverish; how it interferes with
the digestion, blurs the eyes, deafens the ears,
and so forth. This we see plainly when pas-
sions are strong; but when they are of a weakly
though persistent nature, their immediate effect
is not so plain. But let the blood be inflamed
day after day for many months, then men begin
to see the congested and inflamed result to some
organ in the body. Continued anger produces
disease, and there is no healing of certain chronic
ailments but by the cleansing of the heart of all
angry thoughts and tendencies.

Spiritual student, are you obliged continually
to suppress anger? are you impatient? do you
allow your temper to foam and ferment within?
Perhaps you seldom speak an angry word, rarely

act impatiently. If you have gained control of
your tongue and your hands, it is well; you are
fulfilling the letter of the law: now you must
know how to fulfill the spirit. The inward irri-
tation must be removed in order that you may
be healed.

This is the healing of anger: Remember that
your heavenly Father is Love, and you, the child
of Love, are made, spiritually, in the image and
likeness of unchangeable Love; therefore angry
thoughts have no real place in you, and do not
belong to you at all. They are a false creation,
and have no real life, force, or strength. When
they begin to rise in your .heart, say to them
quietly and1 lovingly, "You are nothing, and
have no place in me. I am the child of Love,
and only Love thoughts can live in me." Watch
and pray without ceasing, and deliverance is
yours.

and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca,
shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever
shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell
fire.

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The Christ instructs us to call no one a worth-
less or common fellow (raca), or a fool. In the
eyes of God, all are equally precious, wise, and
divine. One who views his fellow being as a
body of flesh, or a mortal creature, makes a mis-
take, and is apt to fall into confusion and blind-
ness because of his ignorance. He is liable (in
danger of) to make a wall which will keep him
from his divine inheritance if he thinks a man
a fool. The Pharisees thought Jesus a fool,
and, by disregarding his words, missed their
opportunity. Call no one a crank or a fool be-
cause you do not agree with him. The wise man
listens quietly to all without prejudice or con-
tempt, and is not hasty to accept or reject, seeing
that there is some truth. back of every statement
that can be made, and knowing that from those
who are sincere and earnest in their search for
Truth, the error will fall away for very lack of
nourishment.

So also never deem anyone outside the pale
of salvation. No one is worthless; nothing can

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equal the value of the immortal soul, which is
the true Self of all them that men have called
"raca."

The judgment, the council, and hell fire are
three symbolical terms used to indicate three
stages or states of mind, the result of holding
false thoughts in the heart. The first word
refers to a common court, consisting of twenty-
three men, which the Jews had, and which pos-
sessed the power of sentencing men to death
either by beheading or strangling. The second
is the Sanhedrin, consisting of seventy -two men,
before which the highest crimes were tried, and
which alone had the power to put to death by
stoning, considered more terrible than the other
death penalties. The third is gehenna, a valley
without the walls of Jerusalem in which a fire
was kept burning continually to consume the
refuse of the city, the carcasses of beasts, and
the unburied bodies of criminals who had been
executed. All these words are used allegorically
by Jesus and do not refer to places to which one
is going after death, but to experiences which

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men are passing through all about us because
of uncontrolled passions, and from which Truth,
our savior, has come to deliver us.

23. Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the
altar,, and there rememberest that thy brother
hath ought against thee;

24. Leave there thy gift before the altar, and
go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother,
and then come and offer thy gift.

Since "the hour cometh, and now is, when the
true worshipers shall worship the Father in
spirit and in truth," and not in temples made of
stone, therefore the altar here referred to must
be spiritual and not material. That altar is the
heart, the within, and the gifts we bring to our
God are all our desires, thoughts, prayers, deeds,
sacrifices, and joys. By offering them to the
Great Good we identify ourselves with it, and
draw down upon ourselves the harmony, joy,
peace, life, and health which are the Kingdom
of Heaven. Why is it that many have so often
brought their gifts to God, and apparently have

not been accepted? They have given away in
charity hundreds of dollars, and yet suffer pov-
erty; they have prayed many prayers, but see
little return. It is because they have not studied
the Master's instructions closely enough; for he
has given a perfect guide into the right life, and
somewhere among his sayings we shall be sure to
find the key that will solve every puzzle that lies
in human experience.

Right in these two verses lies one of the solu-
tions to the oft-repeated questions, "Why is not
my prayer answered?" "Why are my treat-
ments so ineffectual?"

When you enter the silence to commune with
your Good, and suddenly remember that some
one is angry with you, or has something against
you, first go and be reconciled with thy brother;
then return, and all will be well.

Here Jesus shows that it will not do to have
any one angry at us. No matter how little cause
he may have for his stand, our part must be done
toward bringing forth the true reconciliation.

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"But suppose he will not be conciliated?" says
one. There is no such thing as failure with the
true Love. Be as fervent about that, then, as
you have been in other things. Pray to God;
all things are possible to them that believe. The
inharmonious wall of your brother's anger or
revenge must be pierced by your all-conquering
love. One enemy reconciled becomes a mighty
host to carry you into higher and greater realiza-
tion of the divine Kingdom here.

Reconciliation commences in the heart, and
when one's love and desire go out to another
for harmony and peace between you often the
Spirit brings back the sweet assurance that it
is done, even when that one is over seas and far
away from personal communion, such is the
power of right thinking.

25. Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles
thou art in the way with him; lest at any time
the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the
judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast
into prison.

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26. Verily I say unto ihee, Thou shall by no
means come out thence, till thou hast paid the
uttermost farthing.

The adversary (literally, opponent-at-law] is
the accuser, sometimes called Satan, disease,
pain, condemnation, affliction, death, and so
forth.

This instruction of agreement is given us by
Jesus Christ in order to escape from our adver-
sary, and not become slave to or subject of the
evil, as would result if we should oppose it.
Here is taught one of the great tactics of the
Spirit, the wisdom of the serpent combined with
the harmlessness of the dove. Many an evil
is escaped through ignoring it, or not caring
about it.

But wise is he whose non-resistance is
grounded upon knowledge of what is real and
what is false. He does not fight evil, seeing
it would be as a man who fights shadows and
wars with darkness. Wisdom teaches her chil-
dren to scatter the darkness by bringing in the

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light, and to overcome eyil through not resist-
ing it.

Your adversary is not necessarily an enemy.
Your accuser may be your best friend. He per-
haps accuses you of selfishness, deception, im-
purity, or some other false trait, and it may
seem to you most unjust. But do not resent it.
Ponder it in your heart, and you may discover
some subtle error which has hitherto been too
concealed to be visible to yourself. By your
non-resistance you may be delivered from some
secret foe. "A man's foes shall be they of his
own household."

Had this trait been left to increase it would
finally have brought you under the Mosaic Law
("the judge"), and you would be delivered up
to the "officer" (experience), and be cast into
bondage of mind and body, like to a prison
house. There you would remain until you had
paid the last farthing — that is, until the cause
of your bondage, certain false thinking, had
been completely canceled and replaced by true

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thoughts. It is always Christ (the Truth) that
pays the last farthing, and frees one finally from
the clutches of the law. "If the Son therefore
shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed"
(John viii:36).

PURITY

27. Ye have heard that it was said by them of
old time, Thou shall not commit adultery:

28. But I say unto you, That whosoever look-
eth on a woman to lust after her hath committed
adultery with her already in his heart.

Not only must man be chaste in word and
deed, but also in his most secret thoughts.
Thinking is the source of action, and to cleanse
a fountain one must begin at its source.

Lust has no place in the spiritual mind. What-
ever feeling is not high and holy is adulterous
—that is, idolatrous — and must be cast out of
the heart by the Truth. Freedom from adultery
and impure thinking comes from loving God
alone. When a man loves God, the Spirit, only,

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in a woman, then no carnal desire can enter his
heart, even though she be his lawful wife.

Jesus does not make any exception in this
statement; there should be no lust in the heart
of a man toward any woman — not toward his
wife even; for the truth is that there is but one
marriage — the union with God. The true bride
of every man is the Holy Spirit, and Christ is
the true bridegroom of every woman.

"All men cannot receive this saying, save they
to whom it is given" (Matt, xixrll). Those
who follow close upon the Christ put away every
sensual appetite, that its true spiritual corre-
spondent may be made manifest in them.

29. And if thy right eye offend ihee, pluck
it out, and cast it from ihee: for it is profitable
for ihee that one of thy members should perish,
and not that thy whole body should be cast into
hell.

30. And if thy right hand offend ihee, cut it
off, and cast it from ihee: for it is profitable for
ihee that one of thy members should perish,, and

not that thy whole body should be cast into
hell.

The word "right," used in the Scripture, sig-
nifies our belief in what is good and right; arid
the word "left," our belief in what is evil and
mysterious. For example, God, reasoning with
Jonah, says: "Should not I spare Nineveh, that
great city, wherein are more than sixscore thou-
sand people that cannot discern between their
right hand and their left hand?" (Jonah iv:ll).
They were like those children described in Deu-
teronomy, first chapter, thirty-ninth verse, who
could not discern between good and evil, yet be-,
cause of their innocence entered into the prom-
ised land.

The "right eye" is the perception of what is
good and right. If your sense of what is right-
eous and lawful stands in the way of your spir-
itual advancement ("offend you"), put it away
from you. It may be a relationship which ac-
cording to the law is right and just; but "who-
soever he be of you that forsaketh not all that
he hath, he cannot be my disciple" (Luke xiv:

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33 ) . The plucking out and casting away is a
heart process. Right self-denial taken in season
saves the wise man from being submerged in
mental and physical gehenna, some vice or sick-
ness, sorrow or mistake.

The "right hand" is a deed or a power that
one believes to be righteous and conducive, or
necessary, to one's happiness. When Jesus told
the young man who had great possessions that
in order for him to advance further in the spir-
itual life he must sell all that he had and give to
the poor, it was the same advice as the cutting
off the right hand.

Whatever pleasure, lawful or otherwise, causes
us to forget God and our spiritual nature is a
stumbling-block, and the Truth must remove it.
Better to cast away a temporal joy than to re-
main without the consciousness of our eternal
happiness.

31. It hath been said. Whosoever shall put
away his wife., let him give her a writing of
divorcement:

, 32. But I say unto you, That whosoever shall
put away his wife, saving for the cause of forni-
cation, causeth her to commit adultery: and who-
soever shall marry her that is divorced com-
mitteth adultery.

There is no divorce in the spiritual mind.
True marriage is of the spirit and not of the
flesh, and in the divine marriage, as in the divine
life, there is no beginning and no end. Divorce
is death; and going from one married state into
another is like going from one plane of exist-
ence (physical) into another (psychical), neither
of them being the true state, as is shown by their
having beginning and ending. They who look
to divorce to free them from a false marriage
are like one who looks for death to release him
from life. It may bring temporary relief, but
it leaves the problem unsolved. In the Christ
knowledge, that to God only you are married,
is freedom from the woes of a carnal marriage.

Jesus gives no cause for divorce. It is Moses
alone that justifies divorce. Men have said that

34!

Jesus allowed divorce when the cause was adul-
tery, saying that in verse thirty-second he meant
adultery by the word "fornication"; but that
is not so. He carefully used his words, and
porneia (fornication) is very different from
moicheuo (to commit adultery). The first is
the act of an unmarried person, the second of
one who is married. In what sense, then, can
this word, used of the unmarried, be applied
to married individuals? In one sense only — the
spiritual.

One who consecrates his or her generative
powers to God enters into the regenerative state,
and thenceforth generates spiritually and no
longer physically. Such a one, whether married
(after the world) or unmarried, becomes a vir-
gin or eunuch, one who is unmarried (Matt.
xix:10-12). If such a one puts away his wife
that he may refrain from fornication, he is ex-
empt from causing his wife to commit adultery.

Impure thinking is put away from the heart
and mind by continually remembering that you

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are not a fleshly being in your real nature, but
spiritual, like unto your Father, God. The flesh
is not yourself. You are spirit, not created by
carnal or sensual laws, but created by pure and
holy Love; and only chaste and pure thoughts
can enter your mind or go forth from your
heart. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they
shall see God."

SWEAR NOT AT ALL

33. Again, ye have heard that it hath been
said by them of old time, Thou shall not for-
swear thyself, but shall perform unto the Lord
thine oaths:

34- But I say unto you, Swear not at all;
neither by heaven; for it is God's throne:

35. Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool:
neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the
great King.

36. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, be-
cause thou canst not make one hair white or black.

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37. But let your communication be, Yea, yea;
Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these
cometh of evil.

Whoever swears to anything, makes a vow,
takes an oath, gives a promise, makes a resolu-
tion, or in any way binds himself by his word
places himself under the Mosaic Law, and is
liable to incur penalty through breaking the law
he has made for himself.

Swearing, promising, and vowing arise from
two common errors: first, belief in the future;
second, distrust and lack of faith. There is only
the eternal "now" in which we should live, and
all that we affirm should be of the present. The
Wise One says, "It is," and it is so; "It is not,"
and of a surety it is not: whatever is more than
plain and direct affirmation or denial comes from
belief in evil.

He who trusts his fellow beings needs no
promises or vows. He who trusts the divine
Spirit within himself knows his word to be as
good as gold, and that it needs no indorsement

of oath, vow, or promise; and he is willing to
let it go forth in all its simplicity, trusting the
Truth in it to give it acceptability and substance.

Heaven is the throne of God. Heaven is
within you, therefore God is enthroned now in
your heart, and always has been; for God, the
unchangeable, does not come and go, but re-
mains ever in the same state or place. "Lo, I
am with thee alway;" "I will never leave thee
nor forsake thee." The earth is his footstool.
The "earth" is the great negative state in which
is included all that is material, evil, and inimical
to God. It is the state that is to be overcome,
or come over, and to be put under foot. Man,
following after God, must learn to have domin-
ion over the earth, and to put all that is earthly
under his feet. "Sit thou at my right hand [in
the power of the good], until I make thine ene-
mies thy footstool."

"Thou canst not make one hair white or black"
by using false words, which oaths are. Only
true words have the real magical powers. He

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who desires all his words to be magical, and to
bring forth that which he wishes, must be care-
ful always to speak words that are absolutely
true, and which are based upon divine principles/
Let your communication be "Yea, yea," to
all that is everlastingly good and holy, and
"Nay, nay," to all that is riot of God — evil, and
of the carnal or fleshly nature. Ever honest,
straightforward, fearless, and loving, the sim-
pler and more direct the speech, the more God-
like is your manifestation.

THE DOCTRINE OF NON-RESISTANCE

38. Ye have heard that it hath been said, An
eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:

39. But I say unto you, That ye resist not
evil:

According to the justice of the world evil
must be returned for evil in order that evil may
be diminished. This is the highest teaching that

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the world can give; and most of the law-givers
have seen justice only in returning good for
good and evil for evil. "Thine eye shall not
pity," says Moses, "but life shall go for life,
eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot
for foot" (Dent. xix:21). To-day these same
old laws are still in force, and men who call
themselves Christians think they are doing God
service, and that it is for the good of the people
to murder murderers, and if a man steal to steal
from him his liberty, and in every way rec-
ompense evil with evil; whereas their Master's
teachings are very clear and plain: " That ye re-
sist not evil."

The old laws of compensation, evil for evil,
were based upon the belief that evil is a great
reality; in fact, to most people the greatest real-
ity in the world: more so, even, than the exist-
ence of God. When the premise, or root, of a
law is false, then its enaction is false, and all its
fruits worse than useless. "Therefore every tree
which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn

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down, and cast into the fire." "For the tree is
known by his fruits." The old Mosaic laws have
never abolished evil, but every evil (punish-
ment) which has been returned for evil contained
within itself the seeds of more evils, and the last
state of the average punished criminal is worse
than the first. But these laws are the best man
can follow until the corning of the Christ to him ;
then he is a law unto himself, for he sees the
inwardness of all law, and knows how to fulfill
it in spirit and in truth.

The Christ reveals to a man that God, the
Good, is all there really is, and that evil is but
negation, like darkness, having no real substance
or place, and is not to be fought any more than
phantoms or shadows are to be resisted. When
a man understands that evil is delusion, and has
no real power or presence, he will adopt the
Christ method of simple non-resistance toward
it, and turn upon it the light of pure goodness,
and keep it there persistently until its darkness
is converted into light.

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The philosophy of non-resistance of evil con-
sists in reasoning that evil is nothing and cannot
be anything to anyone except he gives it sub-
stance by his belief in it and consequent fighting
of it. Every word or act that recognizes an evil
serves to give it an extended existence, and the
way to counteract it is either by ignoring it and
being indifferent to it, or, best of all, to return
an active, heart-felt good for it, and it will fly
as shadows disappear before the sun.
but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek,
turn to him the other also.

The right side of the body represents our
positive beliefs, what we believe to be right and
good, and which we put forward into manifes-
tation. The left side of the body represents our
negative beliefs, the unknown or secret part of
our nature, that which is hidden and under cover.
The word "right" has thus come to mean good,
and the word "left," that which is negative in
character — not always evil, but generally -con-
sidered so. Thus a morganatic wife is called a

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"left-handed wife," and an illegitimate son a
"left-handed son," and so forth.

With this understanding of the symbolism of
right and left we can see why Jesus said "upon
the right cheek" instead of upon the left. If
any one attacks you in that wherein you know
you are good and in the right, mentally turn
the negative, or secret, side of your nature, and
let it receive the blow. When one is smitten
upon the left cheek, or accused of that which
can plainly be seen (the cheek is in plain sight)
to be an error or fault, then it is no effort to be
non-resistant, but rather it is the policy or polite-
ness of the world to offer the right cheek, which
is to apologize and make good. But it is Christ-
like t9 be silent under undeserved assault, and
even to count it deserved, in that no flesh is jus-
tified in the sight of the law .(Ps. cxliii:2; Ecc.
vii : 20 ) . By turning the other cheek to him that
smites you with the true spirit and a prayer in
your heart for your assailant you will not receive
a second blow, but, instead, take the sting out of

the first blow, and convert an enemy into your
friend.

40. And if any man will sue thee at the law,,
and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke
also.

"And him who is desiring thee to be judged
and to take thy tunic, let him have thy mantle
also." — Rotherhants Translation. The coat, or
tunic, is a small woolen shirt worn next the
body; of small value, but necessary for warmth,
cleanliness, and comfort. It signifies anything
that is a necessity and comfort to a person.
The cloak, or mantle, is an outer garment,1 not so
necessary in warm Palestine, but often orna-
mental and of considerable pecuniary value. It
signifies the beautiful and valuable among our
possessions. So if any one wishes, by process of
law, to take from you the very necessities of your
earthly life, instead of resisting your prosecutor,
rather add something richer and fairer. "For a
man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the
things which he possesseth" (Luke xii:15).

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There is no "mine" and "thine" in the Spirit.
All things belong to all, for God is the one pos-
sessor, and we, as his Son, say, "All things that
the Father hath are mine" (John xvi:15), and
we are all one. The early Christians understood
and practiced this teaching of Christ: "And the
multitude of them that believed were of one heart
and of one soul: neither said any of them that
aught of the things which he possessed was his
own; but they had all things common" (Acts
iv:32).

41. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a
mile, go with him twain.

This refers to a custom of the Roman couriers,
who had authority to impress into their service
men, horses, and ships, or anything that came
in their way and which might serve to accelerate
their journey. Jesus reveals to us how to treat
those who would climb up by our shoulders, or
use us for their good, and who wTould even im-
pose upon, tyrannize, or domineer over us. Re-
sent it not in your heart or outwardly. Even

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when in your spiritual progress babes in the
Way cling to you and demand your spiritual
aid, and so seem to hinder your upward flight,
do not avoid them or refuse them, but lend a
hand, and instead of being detained you will be
accelerated in your spiritual speed. Resist no
imposition, but cancel it from your life by always
giving it more than it demands. Recognize
nothing as imposition, but only as opportunities
to render divine service, and finally, by perfect
non-resistance, all form of imposition shall be
overcome and pass utterly out of your life.

42. Give to him that asketh thee,

"Give to every man that asketh of thee"
(Luke vi:30) without discrimination or ques-
tion as' to whether he be worthy or not. Does
God consider whether we are worthy in giving
us life? If worthiness were the gauge of our
receiving, then no flesh could receive the divine
benefits. But there is one in us that is worthy,
and to that one, His Son, God gives everything.
All our dealings should be with the Christ man

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in our fellow beings. If we recognize only the
divine in our neighbor, then we will give quickly
and without question. We shall not consider as
to how he will use the gift. "What is that to
thee? follow thou me." We shall not be giving
to the tramp-nature or the beggar-man or the
drunkard, but to the divine in each of these* and
the gift will carry something else besides mate-
rial benefit — a spiritual quality that will cause
the recipient to hear the voice of his inner Self,
and often be the opening of the door into the
higher and holier life. Give as unto the Lord,
for "7 was an hungered," says the Christ within,
"and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty and ye
gave me drink: . . . for inasmuch as ye have
done it unto one of the least of these my breth- _
ren, ye have done it unto me."

You give nobody anything but what belongs
to him, and is his right ; and if we withhold from
another what belongs to him, what better are we
than a thief?

Nothing is more thorough than Jesus' teach-
47

ings concerning possessions. Instead of resist-
ing theft, he says, "Of him that taketh away
thy goods, ask them not again" (Luke vi:30) ;
instead of asking for rightful division of inher-
itance, he warns his followers (Luke xii:15) to
"Take heed, and beware of covetousness." Place
no valuation upon any material thing, and all
thieving will pass out of your life. Care neither
for riches nor poverty, and you will never be in
want.

and from him that would borrow of thee turn
not thou away.

Not only this, but "lend, hoping for nothing
again" (Luke vi:35). Look for neither interest
nor capital. Forgive your debtors absolutely;
hold no one, not even in thought, as owing you
anything. Cease to be men's creditor and you
will cease to be their debtor. For as you for-
give men their debts, so shall your indebtedness,
both material and spiritual, be canceled. Forget
that you ever gave to anybody. God, who bal-
ances and adjusts all things, will remember, and

"thy Father which seeth in secret, shall reward
thee openly."

OVERCOME EVIL WITH GOOD

43. Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou
shall love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy.
44- But I say unto you, Love your enemies,
Both these laws have the same object — the
destruction of the enemies. The Christ way is
to transmute enemies into friends by the alchemy
of the holy love-fire. Divine love operating in
the heart of a man causes him to seek the spir-
itual Self in his enemy, and to think about that
one, and to try and love the Holy One within
his foe. Such love forces the better nature of
his enemy into manifestation, and the victory is
won. King Ptolemy was one day reproached
for rewarding instead of destroying his enemies.
"What!" said the noble-minded monarch, "do I
not destroy my enemies when I make them my
friends?"

Jesus, in inculcating this doctrine, indorsed
and accented an old teaching. Buddha says:

A man who foolishly does me wrong, I will return to
him the protection of my ungrudging love; the more
evil comes from him, the more good shall go from me.
Hatred does not cease by hatred at any time; hatred
ceases by love: this is an old rule.

Lao-tsze says:

The good I would meet with goodness. The not-
good I would meet with goodness also. The faithful
I would meet with faith. The not-faithful I would meet
with faith also. Virtue is faithful. Recompense injury
with kindness.

s A man's enemies are not always people.
Whatever is of evil can be your enemy — disease,
sin, pain, poverty, and so forth. Even these we
are not to hate, but seek God within them all,
and love the God-side ; for everything has a true
side that can be found by them that seek. "If
I make my bed in hell, behold thou art there"
(Ps. cxxxix:8).
It will be seen that the Christ doctrine is even

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more than non-resistance. Beyond the nega-
tive, still attitude toward evil it swings you into
a most active, positive, supreme, supernatural
attitude toward all evil, overcoming everything
with the omnipresence and omnipotence of Good.
bless them that curse you,

This does not mean mere lip -blessing. Those
wTho understand the power of their words, real-'
ize that to bless another with right affirmations
is to bring great good to him! The ancients
knew the value of their blessings, and when once
their word had gone forth nothing could recall
it, as when Esau bewailed his lost blessing and
cried to his father, Isaac, "Hast thou but one
blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O
my father" (Gen. xxvii:38).

When blessings meet curses, the evil words
can have no effect. Curses are evil speakings
of any kind.

Give a silent affirmation of Good for every
evil word you hear, thus meeting every curse
with a blessing.

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do good to them that hate you,
inwardly -as well as outwardly, in secret as well
as openly. Kant says that "Love thy neighbor
as thyself" does not contemplate doing our
neighbor good in consequence of our inward
affection for him, but it looks to our acquiring
the affection for him by doing him good.

To do good for goodness' sake is to fire the
heart with love; for we cannot help loving those
whom we willingly serve.

and pray for them which despitefully use you,
and persecute you;

And when ye pray, believe that ye receive,
and ye shall have. Meet every sneer and insult
from people, all contemptuous and scornful
treatment, all tormenting and hateful conduct
toward you, with an earnest, silent appeal to
their high and holy nature to manifest itself.
Invoke their God-being to come forth with a
persistency that will not take "no" for an an-
swer, and verily you shall win the day; for the
gates of hell cannot hold out against such faith.

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45. That ye may be the children of your
Father which is in heaven:

That you may be your Father's child, not only
in Principle, but also in manifestation; not only
in the realm of Reality, but also in the realm of
appearances. You are indeed His child; prove
your divine character by being like your Father.
for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on
the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on
the unjust.

"And ye shall be the children of the Highest:
fop he is kind unto the unthankful and to the
evil" (Luke vi:35). There is nothing but good-
,ness in our God; no revenge there, no punish-
ment. He returns good for evil ever and for-
ever. Our Holy Father is absolutely good, and
in him is no evil at all. He never sends disease
or death, sorrow or sin, misfortune or poverty,
or any evil thing. He resists not evil, but loves
his enemies; blesses them that curse him, and
does good to them that hate him. The world's
righteousness has been "good for good" and

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"evil for evil," but the righteousness of our God
is Good for good and Good for evil — ever and
always Good.

46. For if ye love them which love you, what
reward have ye? do not even the publicans the
same?

47. And if ye salute your brethren only, what
do ye more than others? do not even the publi-
cans so?

Except your goodness exceed the righteous-
ness of the world, ye can in no wise enter into
your divine inheritance. Anyone can give good
for good. It is natural to be loving and kind
to those who treat us well. It is human to bless
those who bless us, and speak well of those who
are our friends. All these things we will do
naturally just in living in the old earth-life.
But how do we advance in the Way by such
walking in a circle? It is but the old treadmill
practice of the world, that leaves a man and his
race at the close of his earthly career just where
it found him.

It is easy to be an angel among angels, but
God demands that you be a Christ among mor-
tals; that you prove your divinity in the midst
of humanity, your Godhood in the midst of
demons.

48. Be ye therefore perfect, even as your
Father which is in heaven is perfect.

The perfection of God has always been per-
fection. God did not become perfect, but always
was, is now, and always will be perfect. There-
fore to be as perfect as God, one must always
have been perfect. This is true of the real Self.
It was perfect in the beginning and is so now.
It has never fallen, or sinned, or been imperfect
in any measure. Return to your divine Self.
BE YOUR SELF — this is the gist of the Christ-
teaching.

IN THE SECRET PLACE

The realm of causation is in secrecy. All the
Father's causative work is done in secret, but its
fruit, or manifestation, is open. This truth is

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symbolized throughout nature, and even also in
the arts of men.

The seed works underground, sometimes a
long time, before it puts forth its green leaf,
and throughout its growth its laboratory is still
most secret. The embryo babe is hid from sight.
Both the land and the sea cover thousands of
treasures — diamonds, pearls, gold, coal, coral-
still in process of formation, preparing for mani-
festation which may be ages hence.

In the arts of men they continually hide the
mechanism that produces the fair showing — the
works of a watch, the dynamo that lights, the
kitchen that produces the banquet; there is not
a work of man's hands but has its secret region
of causation.

In order to be master of any work of art or
nature one must go right into its secret place.
So, herewith, Jesus would show us how to get
into the secret place of the Most High, the realm
of causation. Act as God acts, who does not
care to what men ascribe His good deeds. Let

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your religious acts (verse one) be most secret;
your charitable works (verse three), your pray-
ing (verse six), your self-denial (verse eigh-
teen)— all must have their root in the secret
Presence, that their fruit may be of the everlast-
ing and heavenly nature.

Chapter vi: verse 1. Take heed that ye do not
your alms before men, to be seen of them: other-
wise ye have no reward of your Father which is
in heaven.

The word "alms" should be "righteousness."
It is a different Greek word from the one used
in verses second, third, and fourth. It signifies
devotional acts and observances.

Make no parade of your religion. Do noth-
ing, religious or secular, "to be seen of men."
Draw as little attention as possible to your per-
sonality. Do not advertise your demonstrations
so as to make your personality conspicuous.
Those who do this get an earthly reward, but
miss the highest, which is the eternal power to
demonstrate belonging to the true Self.

"Reward with [not of] your Father which is
in heaven" is reaping the same results in unison
with God. "My Father worketh hitherto, and
I work."

Again, this instruction of the Master will keep
us from doing things in order to be an example
to somebody. It takes away all human self-
consciousness, and our deeds are without affec-
tation, just like the little child who simply does
a thing because it is natural. There is one ex-
ample for all, even God, and no human being
is our example, or should set himself up to be
one. God in Jesus is the one to follow; God in
me, and God in you, and none other. This direc-
tion to do nothing to be seen of men is another
way (the negative) of presenting the idea em-
bodied in verse sixteen, chapter five. Let your
light so shine that men will glorify your Father
which is in Heaven, and riot you personally.
After performing a great cure or other good
work, if you can succeed, like Jesus ( Luke xviii :
43), in turning the gratitude of the beneficiary

away from yourself to God the same will come
to pass in you that was promised to Moses (Ex.
vii:l) and the house of David (Zech. xii:8), and
manifested in Jesus, the becoming as God to the
people.

2. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do
not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypo-
crites do in the synagogues and in the streets,
that they may have glory of men. Verily I say
unto you, They have their reward.

The word "hypocrite" is from the Greek hupo-<
krites, meaning a stage-actor or masked player.
It was the custom in those days for performers
to herald their coming (like the circus of to-day)
with advertisement through trumpet and pag-
eant, or parade of some kind. The word hupo-
krite was not used in the evil sense then that it
is now, but could be an epithet of praise or blame
according to the individual judgment of the
hearer. Call a man "a good actor" to-day and
all will depend upon the connection of the words
as to whether it is a compliment or a term of

opprobrium.

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Taken in its largest sense we see that all hu-
man beings are actors (hypocrites). "All the
world's a stage and all the men and women
merely hupokrites" to paraphrase Shakespeare.
The Latin persona, from which comes "person-
ality," is identical in meaning with hupokrites.
Thus we see that the word "hypocrite" could be
applied to any personality, which is but a mask
of the true Self. As sinful beings we appear
to be what we are not ; for are we not in reality
pure, holy beings, and yet seem to be weak, sickly
mortals? Be not as the hypocrites, but appear
as you are; act your true character, which is
perfect.

Sound no trumpet before you. "I receive not
honor from men," says the Christ. It is human
nature to love the praise of men, but it is divine
to love the praise of God only. In all ways
Jesus would have us lift up our human loves into
the divine; for the human is temporal and un-
satisfying, while the divine is eternal and all-
satisfying.

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3. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left
hand know what thy right hand doeth:

"Thine alms" are your forgiving, loving,
charitable good deeds. Not only are we to be
careful so that they shall not be seen by the
world, but they are even to be secret to our
own selves. Do not, even in your most secret
thoughts, claim the slightest credit for them, or
congratulate yourself, or give yourself one par-
ticle of praise. The tendency of the mortal is
to whisper to its left hand what its right hand
has done, to condone its delinquencies (the left
hand stands for our negative acts, deeds of omis-
sion, evils, and so forth) by remembering its
meritable deeds. As long as this is done there is
not the realization of the commonest conduct of
our spiritual Self.

Good actions must be our natural habit. As
we do not go about telling people we breathe,
or taking credit to ourselves that we eat, so also
we should realize that our goodness should be
as spontaneous and as unassuming and as free

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from self -consciousness as every function of the
physical organs.

Jesus advises us to look upon all our highest
and noblest actions as just what we ought to do
—"So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all
those things which are commanded you, say, We
are unprofitable servants: we have done that
which was our duty to do." We are "un-
profitable" because nothing the mortal can do
brings any gain to our master — Self. Never do
anything for reward, but all things regardless
of fruit or consequence. More than this, Jesus
teaches us to avoid earthly recompense as much
as possible (Luke xiv: 12-14).

4. That thine alms may be in secret: and thy
Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward
thee openly.

Nothing is secret that shall not be made mani-
fest. No spiritual treatment is ever lost, no good
work is ever wasted. And the more secret it is,
the more it is within, at the source of good, the
greater and more complete is the manifestation.

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The Father does not reward secretly, but always
openly.

PRAYER

5. And when thou prayest, thou shall not be
as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray stand-
ing in the synagogues and in the corners of the
streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I
say unto you, They have their reward.

The hypocrite (actor) is one who pays atten-
tion to the external and neglects the internal;
who follows the letter of a doctrine, but omits
its spirit ; who is exacting as to the form of words
(prayers, ordinances, laws, statements, and so
forth), but who either forgets or ignores their
power and substance, "Having the form of
godliness, but denying the power thereof" (2
Tim. iii:5).

The hypocrite in us talks much, but does lit-
tle; theorizes and has opinions, but bears none
of the fruits of the Spirit; nor yet its leaves,

which are for the healing of the nations^ — body,
mind, and soul.

In true prayer there is no consciousness of the
presence of men, but only of God; this is also
true of spiritual treatment, which is declarative
prayer.

Prayer is communion with God, and is the
means by which power is transmitted from the
universal to the particular. All men are con-
tinually praying to some one or some thing, but
prayer to God is recognition of the power and
the presence of the Almighty Good alone. It
is not for the changing of God; it is only the
mortal that changes. True prayer from the
heart of the devotee is THE WORD which mani-
fests all that ever is manifested.

6. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into
thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door,
pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy
Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee
openly.

"Enter into thy closet," or inner chamber.

That this direction is to be taken in its spiritual
sense is shown by the actions of Jesus, who did
not seek any literal closet when he prayed.
The inner chamber is the interior consciousness.
When you pray, turn within, or retire within
yourself, and shut the door by keeping out all
worldly, wandering, and idle thoughts. When
learning to pray, this may require steady watch-
ing. Brother Lawrence, who lived two hundred
years ago, in telling how he learned to commune
consciously with God, says:

That useless thoughts spoil all; that the mischief
began there; but that we ought to reject them as soon
as we perceived their impertinence to the matter in hand,
or our salvation; and return to our communion with
God. That at the beginning he had. of ten passed his
time appointed for prayer in rejecting wandering
thoughts and falling back into them. Practice of the
Presence of God.

"Thy Father which is in secret." God is
within you, for Heaven is within ( Luke xvii : 21 ) ,
and to address our Father which is in Heaven

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we must know God to be in us, and not away
off, as children have been so ignorantly taught
to believe — in the blue sky, or some other indefi-
nite, unreachable place. Therefore let the mind
seek the peaceful center of being by causing the
thoughts steadily to dwell upon the presence and
power of God's kingdom.

7. But when ye pray use not vain repetitions,
as the heathen do: for they think that they shall
be heard for their much speaking.

The heathen, those who do not know God, re-
peat prayers without feeling them, using words
that are but an empty form, and therefore are
not heard, that is, responded to.

Repetition is all right; Jesus himself repeated
the same prayer three times on one occasion.
But it is vain repetition that the disciple is
warned against.

Better to speak one sentence in which is faith
and confidence, and warm, loving realization
than many statements that carry no conviction
of their truth to you, but still sound like empty

words, though you know them, intellectually, to
be true. "Hold fast the form of sound words"
(2 Tim. i:13), and then fill the form with the
substance of strong faith and warm love, and
such a prayer is its own answer, for it is the
very Word itself which brings to pass the thing
desired.

8. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for
your Father knoweth what things ye have need
of, before ye ask him.

Prayer is not for the purpose of informing
God of your needs. Your Father knows just
what spiritual realities you need to bring forth
the desire of your heart. The object of prayer
is to place ourselves and those we pray for in
" a receptive state to receive the divine blessings
that are ever being outpoured.

THE LORD'S PRAYER

9. After this manner therefore pray ye: Our
Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy
name.

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10. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in
earth, as it is in heaven.

11. Give us this day our daily bread.

12. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive
our debtors.

13. And lead us not into temptation, but de-
liver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and
the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

"After this manner" we are to pray, not nec-
essarily using the same words or expressing the
same desires, but to observe the general form
and substance of the communion.

There are many points of resemblance in this
prayer to David's found in 1 Chronicles, twenty-
ninth chapter, tenth to nineteenth verses. But
whereas David, in common with all the Old
Testament prophets and lawgivers, calls upon
God as Lord, it is Jesus who first addresses Him
as "Father" — not alone "my Father," but "your
Father" and "our Father."

What greater baptism of spirituality and of
uplifting could there be than a realization of

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the import of those first two words, "Our
Father"?

The first step in right prayer is the raising of
the thoughts to God by devoting the first part
of the prayer to praises and blessings upon the
character and power of the great Spirit. The
mind, though cold and fearful at first, is often
filled with faith and inspiration by simply re-
membering the divine nature through praising
it. All this is for man's benefit, to set his mind
aright — not that it in any way affects the loving
Almighty Father.

"Which art in heaven" within us. The Spirit
of God dwells in you — your very life, health,
love, purity, and all-goodness. Within is the
storehouse of all bounty and the fountain of life,
and prayer opens the storehouse, and sets the
fountain flowing in whatsoever direction you
will.

"Hallowed be thy name." Holy is thy Be-
ing— without blemish, pure and undefiled.

The man who exalts and reveres the name of
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his deity, though he be a heathen, shall come
finally to the true magical Name of God, which
is no longer hidden from those whose will has
become identified with the divine will. Those
who use any deific name lightly or in vanity are
like children who play with gunpowder. Strong
feelings of any kind are fire, and they are as
liable to touch the name as sparks to come to the
gunpowder. To the spiritually wise and loving
THE NAME is revealed because they have hal-
lowed every name of deity. "Thou hast been
faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler
over many things" (Matt. xxv:23).

"Thy kingdom come." "All things whatso-
ever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall
receive" (Matt. xxi:22), therefore believe that
God's kingdom is come, and it shall be unto you
even as you believe. Changing the prayers from
the form of petition and asking to the affirma-
tive and declarative form of expression often
brings realization to the mind. Thus, to pray,
"Hallowed is thy name; thy kingdom is come;

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thy will is done; thou dost give us our daily
bread; thou dost forgive; thou dost lead us," car-
ries out Jesus' direction of praying as though we
had already received our answers, and thereby
brings them to pass.

"Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven."
The earth is the outer man, Heaven is the inner
man. The will of God done in Heaven produces
peace and prosperity, health and freedom. When
doubts come into the mind as to whether our
prayer is according to God's will, let us remem-
ber how His will is done in Heaven.

Does the divine will done in Heaven bring
forth sickness or sorrow, poverty or death? No.
Then His will done in earth will not result in
these. When Jesus prayed for the cup to pass
away, his prayer was granted, for the Father
never refused him anything. But it was the
method of its passing away that he refers to
when he says: "Not as I will but as Thou wilt,"
knowing that the Father's way would be the
easiest and the quickest, and would bring the

greatest good to all, whereas the human way
would be the hardest and the least desirable in
the end. "If this cup may not pass away from
me, except I drink it, thy will be done." Not
by resistance could the evil be overcome, but by
the redeeming act of identifying himself with
the cup. This was the Father's way.

When in doubt as to how the divine will in
granting your prayer is to be accomplished
always use Jesus' words, trusting the Father's
way to be the easiest, quickest, and grandest way
of bringing to pass your desire, not only bring-
ing you good, but also bringing the highest good
to all.

The simple utterance of "Thy will be done in
earth as it is in heaven" continued faithfully
from day to day will cleanse us from every un-
heavenly thought, and bring forward that One
in us who is the everlasting habitant of the divine
regions.

"Give us this day our daily bread." One of
the offices of prayer is to cause us to acknowledge

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the source of our Good. He who realizes that it
is God that gives us even our literal bread and
riches will never be in want, for he will not turn
his mind to other gods, such as human intellect,
material work, personalities, for his support, but
will continually acknowledge the true Source,
and thus make himself receptive to divine supply.

The spiritual significance of "day" is season
of illumination and manifestation; "bread" is
Truth, or Word of God (Deut. viii:3). "Give
us for this manifestation the Truth, or Word,
belonging to it."

"Forgive us our debts" can have as literal fruit
as the preceding petition. Material debts are
canceled by God, just as physical hunger is satis-
fied and physical diseases are healed.

Indebtedness of all kinds, physical or moral,
is canceled in the same proportion and in the
same manner as we cancel the debts that others
owe us, for this is the outworking of the law and
the prophets: that whatsoever ye do unto men,
even so will your Father do unto you. ,

The invocation for forgiveness is the central
point of the prayer, the apex of the prayer-
pyramid, therefore Jesus dwells upon it after
finishing (verses fourteen and fifteen, which
see), and through explaining the reciprocal law
of forgiveness he gives one of the secrets of
prayer-answering, which is: "Give, and it shall
be given unto you."

"And lead us — not into temptation, but de-
liver us from evil." In leading us into spirit-
ual heights, save us from the temptations that
shadow them. God tempts no man, yet the out-
pouring of the gifts of the Spirit may seem to
bring new phases of life that will cause the dis-
ciple to fear a falling away from the Spirit.
Now this closing petition is a provision for that
fear. The one who prays for a gift of God may
suddenly have the thought: "Perhaps if God
grants this I shall be led into sin, or some great
evil may follow." If it is health he prays for he
thinks: "If God makes me well, perhaps I may
return to my old excesses ;" if it is prosperity, the

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adversary may whisper: "You will forget God if
you are prospered." To all these suggestions
this is the reply: "Lead me, my Father, away
from the evil of this, into thy safety," and we are
then to remember to leave the issue with God,
trusting him to grant our heart's desire, and at
the same time deliver us from its snare.

After being baptized with the Holy Spirit,
there came to Jesus his first testing, through
which he passed unscathed. The good men re-
ceive may seem to bring them into evil experi-
ences, just as light seems to bring shadows. Yet
as shadows are no part of the light, so these
temptations are no part of the spiritual life, and
are to be dealt with as we deal with shadows —
pass safely through them by carrying the lamp
of the Lord. "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet,
and a light unto my path" (Ps. cxix:105).

"For thine is the kingdom." The ruling, the
dominion, the control is all thine — not Satan's,
or the devil's. "Thine is the power," Almighty
Life; not disease or death, sin or sorrow. "Thine

is the glory" and the honor; it is never to be given
to mortal man, or to any personality.

Jesus' prayer closes in the same way that
David's begins (1 Chron. xxix:ll), the same
Spirit being the alpha and omega of both.

FORGIVENESS

14- For if ye forgive men their trespasses,
your heavenly Father will also forgive you:

15. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses,
neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Being forgiven is a state of mind, and no one
is forgiven unless he thinks he is. By exercising
kindness and mercy toward another who has
sinned we can realize how that same feeling may
be extended toward us when sinful. And the
more lenient we grow toward others, the more we
come out from the bondage of condemning and
being condemned, and consequently out of its
effect or symbol, physical pain, disease, and
death, until finally we stand where no thought of

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vengeance or punishment for an offender can
enter our heart, even when the sin is against our
beloved and those who are helpless and innocent.
Then we enter into full freedom. He who for-
gives all receives full forgiveness.

NO SAD APPEARANCES

16. Moreover when ye fast, be not as the
hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfig-
ure their faces, that they may appear unto men
to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their
reward.

17. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine
head, and wash thy face;

18. That thou appear not unto men to fast,
but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy
Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee
openly.

"Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for
a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his
head as a bulrush and to spread sack-cloth and

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ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and
an acceptable day to the Lord?" asks Isaiah
(lviii:5), and then he proceeds to show that true
fasting is loosing the bands of wickedness, un-
doing heavy burdens, breaking yokes, and so
forth. The word of denial spoken in heart and
mind, and carried out in speech and action,
breaks every chain, and" loosens every bond, and
unfastens every yoke that enslaves mankind.
This is the fast the Good has chosen.

There are conditions in human experience that
require more such fasting than others. They are
when poverty besets the disciple, and pain, and
persecution ; when he comes face to face with loss
and deprivation, failure ajid death. Then he
must faithfully hold to the truth of the unreality
of evil and the omnipotence of Good. Then be
not of sad countenance, but "the Lord make his
face shine upon thee, . . . the Lord lift up
his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace"
(Num. vi:25, 26). You live, move, and have
your being in the Kingdom of Heaven, and there

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are no gloomy faces there, or sorrowful mouths,
or tearful eyes.

Put away from you every sign of woe. The
true Christian puts away all mourning clothes
and other symbols of grief. He who realizes that
there is no death, and that his beloved is im-
mortal, would but contradict this truth and
repudiate it by assuming apparel that testifies to
the presence and power of death. Those who
wear sad countenances and garments of woe are
magnets to draw that kind of thoughts and con-
ditions to themselves, and in that way they make
it hard for themselves to break through the
gloom and sorrow of the world when they most
wish to do so.

It is a mistake to think that in order to get
sympathy and help it is necessary to make peo-
ple realize how much pain we are in, or what
hardships of poverty we are enduring, or how
sick we are, or how persecuted.

"Abstain from all appearance of evil," that
thou appear not unto men to fast, but carry all

79.

these things to the secret place, and your Father
will be your sure and lasting relief.

TRUE VALUATION

19. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon
earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and
where thieves break through and steal:

Herein Jesus shows how to fulfill the spirit of
the commandment, "Thou shalt not steal," and
also, "Thou shalt not covet."

Cease from giving any value to earthly things.
The material world is without real substance in
itself, and is altogether an imaginary existence.
It is an error to place value upon it, and this error
bears false fruit, like every other mistaken be-
lief. "Beware of the illusions of matter," says
Buddha.

God is spirit, and his kingdom spiritual. "My
kingdom is not of this world, my treasures are
not material," says the One who knows. Divine
supply is introduced into the earth by man's

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adopting the economics of Heaven — no saving
up, no "laying by for a rainy day," no frugality,
but following the law of divine abundance, "Give,
and it shall be given unto you."

The sage does not lay up treasures. The more he
does for others the more he has of his own. The more
he gives to others the more he is increased. Tao-teh-

There are no "private property rights" in God's
world. Jesus reveals that there is to be no claim-
ing earthly property, even that which is counted
by the world legal and legitimate. This is shown
by his word to the young man who asked him to
direct his brother to divide the inheritance with
him. "Beware of covetousness," is the Master's
reply.

Material supply is limited by man's belief in
limitation, manifested as waste and parsimony.
Whoever believes that substance can be wasted is
the wasteful one of the earth, whether he throws
away or hoards up. Lavish nature knows no

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waste, yet produces bushels of fruit that are
never eaten and thousands of flowers that are
never seen.

Giving value to material things is mental
thieving — taking from spirit and giving to mat-
ter— and people who do this are stolen /rom. He
who cares nothing for earthly treasures is ex-
empt from the ravages of the thief.

Not prizing things hard to procure keeps the people
from theft.

If men would abandon their skill and forego their
gains, thieves would have no more existence. Lao-Tsze.

When abstinence from theft in mind and act is com-
plete in the yogee, he has power to obtain all material
wealth. Patanjali.

Selfishness, covetousness, competition, are the
moths in the garments of false living; acquisi-
tiveness, avarice, fear of poverty, are the rust that
stiffens the joints -of old age. The thieves are
whatever may seem to steal away our peace, our
health, our joy, or our life.

20. But lay up for yourselves treasures in

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heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth cor-
rupt, and where thieves do not break through nor
steal:

Fill your hearts with right thoughts and de-
sires, fill your lives with unselfish deeds and
actions based upon the knowledge that all things
belong to all, and that we give to others only what
belongs to them, and receive from others what
has been ours from the beginning.

The charity of the world is an abomination in
the sight of God (Luke xvi:14, 15). Love, the
charity of God, knows not "mine and thine," but
holds all things in common.

21. For where your treasure is, there will your
heart be also.

We become like that which we think most
about.

What thou lovest, man, become thou must ;
God, if thou lovest God ; dust, if thou lovest dust.

Johannes Scheffler*

If our love is centered upon some mortal, our

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heart shows forth mortality. If we treasure up
things belonging to the past, like relics, memen-
toes, old letters, and so forth, we become like the
past, and presently are, to sense, no more. The
true Christian lets the dead past bury its dead.
He remembers Lot's wife, and does not get into
a rut. We will not show the effects of time if
we cease to think about time, and live in the eter-
nal Now.

CONCENTRATION UPON GOD

22. The light of the body is the eye: if there-
fore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be
full of light.

The lamp of the body is the eye, the illuminat-
ing power of the soul is its perceptive, intuitive
faculty. "If thine eye be single," if all your in-
tuitions be focused upon God and his manif estaL
tion, then your whole soul is filled with Truth.
Our eye is single when we believe in God as the
only power and presence. Our eye is double

when we see two powers, good and evil, or have
two loves, God and the world, or in any way be-
lieve in the reality of two opposing beings or
powers.

Concentration of all the faculties upon God
drives every particle of darkness from us — body,
mind, and soul. According to the first and great
commandment, we are not to have any thought
in our mind but of God. Thou shalt love the
Lord, thy God, with all thy mind. We are not
to have any feeling, affection, or emotion but for
God. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all
thy heart; and our whole vitality ("all thy
strength") and every aspiration ("all thy soul")
is to be given to God, and God alone. This is
the "one-pointed" mind spoken of in the Bha-
gavad Gita that overcomes the world and cap-
tures the heavenly Kingdom.

23. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body
shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light
that is in thee be darkness, how great is that
darkness!

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The better translation is, "How dark is the
darkness!"

Of the true Man it is written, he "shutteth his
eyes from seeing evil" (Is. xxxiii:15), and of
God, "Thou art of purer eyes than to behold
evil" (Hab. i:13). Therefore, following our
great example, God, we must have the pure eye,
the single eye, that beholds only Good, the ever-
lasting God.

If evil comes into the mind, then there is an
adulterous mixture, followed by confusion and
darkness in proportion as evil is entertained and
believed in as reality.

To believe that God is a God of wrath, or that
He sends both ev.il and good, is to have a light
that is darkness. There is no cheer in its ray, no
healing in its beams, no life in its shining. There-
fore to such a one darkness is very dark, evil
most evil, sin very black, and all the shadows of
man's life gloomy and fraught with ill-omen.

24* No man can serve two masters: for either
he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he

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will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye
cannot serve God and mammon.

The man who is the greatest success in any
pursuit is the one who devotes his whole being to
it, and makes all things bend to that end. We
cannot serve God and worldly riches, and make
a success of both. Nothing but whole-hearted
service to God can win full God-powers and man-
ifestation.

What we acknowledge to be our master, to
that we are servants. No man should acknowl-
edge two masters, for one is his master, even God.
To own to the dominion of other powers beside
God is idolatry. Abandon all material seeking
forever, for matter is without substance and real-,
ity ; it is vanity and nothingness, and he who pur-
sues it follows illusion, and forsakes his own
good.

NO THOUGHT FOR WORLDLY WELFARE

25. Therefore I say unto you, Take no
thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what

ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye
shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and
the body than raiment?

Anxiety and worriment about support and
supply are acts of unfaith, and many a disease
has its source in such thinking.

All external food and raiment are symbols of
the true substance upon which the soul is fed and
with which it is clothed. Feed the soul with
heavenly nourishment and the earthly food will
follow just as surely as a shadow follows the
thing that casts it.

Clothe the mind with right thoughts and God-
words, and the outward raiment will be forth-
coming, most appropriate and efficient. Medi-
tate upon the true life — is irt not more than meat ?
and the spiritual body — is it not more than rai-
ment?

Make no laws as to what you ought to eat, or
to drink, or to wear. Nothing without a man can
affect him, but the thoughts he has about these
things, and all things, are what affect him

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(Mark vii:15-21). If a man believes his food
will hurt him or make him less spiritual, it will be
unto him according to his faith. If he takes care
of his thoughts and desires, to keep them pure
and spiritual, then he can follow Jesus' instruc-
tions "to eat such things as are set before you"

(Luke x:8), and can claim the divine promise,
"If they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt
them" (Mark xvi:18).

26. JZehold the fowls of the air: for they sow
not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns;
yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye
not much better than they?

27. Which of you by taking thought can add
one cubit unto his stature?

28. And why take ye thought for raiment?
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow;
they toil not, neither do they spin:

29. And yet I say unto you, That even Solo-
mon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of
these.

30. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of

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the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast
into the oven., shall he not much more clothe you.,
O ye of little faith?

Live like the birds, the flowers, and the grass.
Abandon yourself wholly to trusting in your
God for all things.

Which of you by taking anxious thought can
add one particle to his stature, or change in the
least degree the material world? Anxiety and
material desire accomplish nothing. It is only
as thought is spiritual and God-trustful that it
has power over the material universe.

"Labor not for the meat which perisheth," but
work only for love's sake. Unselfishness and
absolute God-trust are the cure for poverty.
Christ frees man from the Adam curse of work
by showing there is but one work to do, "my
Father's business." Banish fear from the mind,
and every man will gravitate to that work which
will be most congenial to himself, and which will
render most loving and able service to his neigh-
bor. Man, like God, loves to work — his joy is in
carrying out his ideas.

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By realizing the spiritual correspondent of the
earthly work which a man is engaged in, he
knows how to work for the Lord, and that it is
the Lord that works in him, and then no work
can tire him, or make him feel material and sep-
arate from his God. If he is a carpenter, he will
remember that he is ever building the temple of
God for all for whom he works ; if she is a house-
keeper, she is ever cleansing and preparing a
place for the Lord in the hearts of the people —
she is giving them the bread of Truth, and it is
as easy to supply the symbol when one is giving
the substance as it was for Jesus to feed the thou-
sands with material food because he had first
given them the real food of life.

God both feeds the ravens and clothes the
grass by being Himself, and by radiating His
supply to whatever and to whomsoever will let
Its presence come.

31. Therefore take no thought, saying, What
shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Where-
withal shall we be clothed?

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32. (For after all these things do the Gentiles
seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye
have need of all these things.

33. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and
his righteousness; and all these things shall be
added unto you.

The kingdom of God is here in all its beauty
and power, just where the earthly kingdom seems
to be. Seek Its presence alone. Seek to bring
forth the beauty of your character and soul, and
the external beauty will be added. "The king's
daughter is all glorious within" and thus it fol-
lows that "her clothing is of wrought gold" (Ps.
xlv:13).

It is useless work, vanity of vanities, to try to
beautify the outside when one is not, first of all,
looking after the within, the reality (Matt, xxiii:
25).

Harmony and spirituality in the family is the
substance of the beautiful home, and makes its
beauty lasting.

Beauty of soul remodels the body, and confers
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upon it youth and strength commensurate with
the desire of its owner.

As with beauty, so with knowledge, and all
the arts and sciences. He who seeks to know God
will have all earthly knowledge added. He who
seeks the harmonies of spirit will unfold his true
musical genius, and have added the earthly power
to express music.

In all things both great and small seek first the
spiritual reality, and the symbol will be added
without a single thought or effort upon the part
of the recipient.

34- Take therefore no thought for the mor-
row: for the morrow shall take thought for the
things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the
evil thereof.

Give no thought to the future, because there is
no future. Fears concerning coming days and
speculations about the '"hereafter" are vain im-
aginings. We never live except in the present.
Consider all thoughts that dwell upon. the future
(whether they are evil or good) as present un-

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belief, to be redeemed by the Truth of what now
is. Whatever is to be is now. Only the Good
really is.

Sufficient to meet every evil is the day (the
light or understanding) for it. "As thy days
[according to their character and needs], so shall
thy strength [knowledge, faith, and power] be"
(Deut. xxxiii:25).

FREE FROM JUDGING

Chapter viii: verse 1. Judge not, that ye be
not judged.

2. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall
be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it
shall be measured to you again.

The word "judgment" (krisis) is not the
same as the word "condemnation" (kata-krisis) ,
neither does "to judge" (krino) always mean "to
damn" (kata-krino) . A judge may pronounce a
thing good, and may give his word in favor of
the one brought before him. This distinction
between judgment and condemnation has not

always been regarded by the translators of the
Bible; often they have used "condemnation" and
"damnation" where the true word is "judgment."
See John v:29, Mark iii:29, 2 Thessalonians
ii:12, where "damnation" should be "judgment";
and John v:24, also iii:17, 18, 19, where "con-
demnation" should be "judgment."

Not only are we not to condemn — to pro-
nounce evil against any one or any thing, and to
mete out punishment — but also we are not to sit
in judgment, neither to declare for nor against.
In other words, we are to cease eating of that
forbidden tree which causes us to see double, the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We are
to know only that Good which has no opposite.
We stop our ears from hearing of evil, and shut
our eyes from seeing it (Is. xxxiii:15). We
judge not after the sight of mortal eyes, neither
reprove after the hearing of the ears (Is. xi:3).
We judge not according to appearances, but
judge righteous judgment, which is to see all
things with those pure eyes that behold only God.

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There is no judgment in the Kingdom of
Heaven. The Father judgeth no man, but hath
committed all judgment unto the Son, who says
of himself, "I judge no man." "I came not to
judge the world, but to save the world."

Who then judges the world? "There is one
that seeketh and judgeth;" men's interpretation
of Jesus' words judge them (John xii:48), and
men's own words about themselves and others
(Matt. xii:37). The Christ accuses no man, but
Moses (John v:45) is that austere judge who
says, "Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee"
(Luke xix:22).

"Neither do I condemn thee" is ever the ver-
dict of the Christ-man, and to him that wishes to
judge he says, "Let him that is without sin first
cast the stone," for that stone will not hurt nor
destroy, but transform and redeem, as it is de-
scribed in Daniel, second chapter, thirty-fifth and
forty-fourth verses, as the stone that smote the
image and became a great mountain that filled
the whole earth.

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3. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in
thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam
that is in thine own eye?

4. Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me
pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a
beam is in thine own eye?

5. Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out
of thine own eye; and then shall thou see clearly
to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

"Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, who-
soever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou
judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for
thou that judgest doest the same things," says
Paul (Rom. ii:l).

Everything we do to our neighbor* we do to
ourselves, for what we see in our neighbor is in
ourselves, and one should look at his neighbor
as he looks at his mirror; if he sees a spot upon
the countenance in the mirror he knows he must
wash his own face in order to remove the blemish
in the mirror.

Thus if we will remove the beam from our own
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eyes we will see clearly that there is no mote in
our brother's, it having been dissolved simul-
taneously with our own cleansing. For in lifting
up ourselves, we have lifted up our brother ; in
purifying our own mind and heart our clear
sight "looks away" the error in our brother, as it
is written: "A king that sitteth in the throne of
judgment scattereth away all evil with his eyes"
(Prov. xx:8).

There is a saying ascribed to Jesus by one of
the early Christians, said to be Matthias, the
apostle. It is consistent with the rest of Christ's
teachings, in which he shows the unity of man —
that we are all one: "If the neighbor of an elect
man sin, the elect sinned himself."

According to this, if the elect would realize his
own sinlessness, let him see the reality of his
neighbor to be the Sinless One. Then he, too,
can say with Christ, "I, if I be lifted up, will
draw all men unto me."

To cancel our neighbor's sin is to lift up our-
selves. All humanity rises together. Redemp-

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tion, like forgiveness, is reciprocal. The day
comes, and is now here, when a man will be more
concerned in bringing his neighbor to the realiza-
tion of the Truth than in advancing himself.
Just as the strong men upon a sinking ship see
to the safety of the weak and helpless first, so
the Christ-man seeks ever to save that which is
lost, and does not say, "It is finished," until he
has spoken the word of pardon for the greatest
sinners of all — " Father, forgive them, for they
know not what they do."

Never will I seek nor receive private individual sal-
vation; never enter into final peace alone; but forever
and everywhere will I live and strive for the universal
redemption of every creature throughout the world.
Kwhan Yin.

GOOD JUDGMENT IN MINISTERING

6. Give not that which is holy unto the dogs,
'neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they
trample them under their feet, and turn again
and rend you.

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Every man is a world in himself, and contains
within all that he sees in the world without. The
description of man, the manifestation or expres-
sion of God, is the entire content of the first chap-
ter of Genesis. In man's true state, the herbs
and the sea, the animals and the lights of the
firmament, and all things from the least unto
the greatest, are pronounced good, and very
good.

The animals of the Scripture represent natural
traits of character, and according to the unfold-
ment of a characteristic the animal is wild and
undesirable, or tame and held in esteem. Anger,
malice, greed, and the rest of men's unredeemed
characteristics are symbolized by wild beasts, and
as man overcomes these carnal propensities it is
said that he treads upon the lion and adder, and
is given power over serpents and scorpions. As
he advances in the Christ-life, every poisonous
plant and wild animal is redeemed in his world.
Of him it is written that he shall take up ser-
pents, when the wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
the lion shall eat hay like the ox, the child shall

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play with the asp, and "They shall not hurt nor
destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth
shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the
waters cover the sea" (Is. xi:6~9).

Man can appear to be what he wills — God or
devil, angel or beast. This is his marvelous
power and privilege. Therefore whatever state
of mind he identifies himself with, that he will
represent. If he comes seeking the Truth in a
docile, non-resistant state of mind, he will be one
of those babes to whom the mysteries of the king-
dom are revealed ( Luke x : 21 ) . But if he comes
—the same man even the next hour — filled with
malice and covetousness, he may hear words that
are darkness to him, and not light: "Ye serpents,
ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the
damnation of hell?" (Matt. xxiii:33).

Use divine judgment in dispensing Truth.
"Be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless
as doves," and "render therefore unto Caesar the
things which are Caesar's; and unto God the
things that are God's."

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When one who is approached with the Truth
receives it in a sneering way, waiting only to
tear it to pieces ; or laughs contemptuously at it,
giving low and impure replies; or is sullen, sar-
castic, or in any way cynical (cynic, from the
Greek, meaning dog) : such a one is called a dog.
He has no use for the deeper mysteries called the
holiest, and they should not be forced upon him.
When the dog within him becomes subservient to
the Master, and a guardian and protection, like
the faithful shepherd dog, to the precious things
of God, then will he be ready to receive, and be
blessed.

The swinish nature in us is that which comes
to Truth only for its material comforts and en-
joyments. If we try to satisfy this nature with
absolute statements and spiritual revelations it
will feel itself being fed with stones when it is
crying out for bread. The Christ has corn for
even the swine, and feeds this nature in its due
season, not despising it. But he is not an un-
faithful steward (Luke xvi), wasting his Lord's

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goods, by administering Truth in forms inappro-
priate and unwelcome.

Great discretion and discernment is given the
faithful one that he may give corn to them that
are asking for corn, and pearls to them that ask
for pearls. Nevertheless, he, too, like Jesus, may
see that though a man has come seeking only
loaves and fishes, yet he is ready for the pearl of
great price. Then fearlessly he gives it, though
offenses come, and men rend him even to cruci-
fixion (John vi :26-66).

Of such it is written: "Behold, I lay in Sion a
stumblingstone and rock of offense: and who-
soever belie veth on him shall not be ashamed"
(Rom. ix:33) ; he "is set for the fall and rising
again of many in Israel; and for a sign which
shall be spoken against" (Luke ii:34) ; "and
blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in
me" (Matt. xi:6).

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DIVINE PERSISTENCY

7. Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and
ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened
unto you.

8. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he
that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it
shall be opened.

One of the most marked teachings of Jesus
Christ is that the spiritual student must be di-
vinely persistent in his demands upon the Spirit
for his spiritual rights, the virtues and the gifts
of the true Self.

The Master of Life here impresses upon the
mind the omnipotence of persistency. "Men
ought always to pray, and not to faint" (Luke
xviii:!).

Jacob, when wrestling with God, would not
take "no" for an answer. "I will not let thee go
except thou bless me," he prayed, and then he
was blessed, and a new name (character and
power) was given him— "Israel," signifying a
man who could prevail with God.

Jesus teaches that when, even as the friend of
God, you could not get your desire, yet you
could accomplish it by determined importunity:
"I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give
him, because he is his friend, yet because of his
importunity he will rise and give him as many as
he needeth" (Lukexi:8).

Answers to prayer go not by favor, but by the
law that equalizes the supply to the demand.

Again, Jesus shows that though no human idea
of justice or right or reward can prevail with
God, yet persistency will gain the day: "Because
this widow importunes me, I will do her justice,
lest at last her coming should weary me" (Luke
xviii:5, Wilson's Translation).

There is a pressure born of superhuman trust
and love, and sublime belief in the right of one's
desire, that, when brought to bear upon the
Fountain of Life, makes it yield up its treasure.

There is a persistency that is the indomitable
God Himself, and God cannot resist Himself.

In the life of Jesus this attitude of mind is

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portrayed in the Greek woman (Mark vii:25-
30) who so believed in the goodness and power of
God that nothing could stop her prayers. The
disciples could not hush her, and even Jesus
could not argue her off from her faith. The
great Spirit within her gave her words that an-
swered his, and won the day. She would have
reasoned with God Himself, and, like Jacob, she
would have won.

The Spirit that knows no failure nor dis-
couragement is the Spirit of God. "He shall
not fail rior be discouraged, until he have set
judgment in the earth" (Is. xlii:4). "To him
that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in
my throne" (Rev. iii:21).

All the Masters of Truth have taught the
power of persistency.

Gautama's priests, the Bikshus, asked, "By what
power of resolution and fixed determination the World-
Honored had obtained perfection?" Buddha replied,
"I remember in years gone by that I was a merchant
prince who went to sea in order to gather precious gems,

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and whilst so engaged I obtained one manigem of ines-
timable value, but I let it fall into the sea, and lost it.
Then taking a ladle I began with fixed determination
to bale out the water of the ocean to recover my gem.
The sea-god said, 'How can this foolish man empty the
wide and boundless ocean?' I replied, 'My resolution
shall never flag ; I will bale out the ocean and get my
precious gem; you watch me, and do not grieve and
fret at the long delay.' The sea-god, hearing these
words, was filled with anxiety for the safety of his
realm, and gave me back my gem."

"To the persevering mortal," says Zoroaster,
"the blessed Immortals are swift."

THE WILL OF GOD

One of the commonest causes of men's weak-
ening in their pursuit after their Good is the in-
sinuating, treacherous doubt, "Perhaps it is not
the will of God." .Knowing this, Jesus proceeds
to reveal to mortals the character of the divine
Father by comparing Him to an earthly father.

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The minds of mortals cannot comprehend
God ; it is the divine Mind in us that knows God.
But mortals must .reason by analogy from what
they do comprehend to what they do not, there-
fore the Christ reveals to us that we may judge
of the character of God by the qualities of a just
and loving earthly being.

9. Or what man is there of you,, whom if his
son ask bread, will he give him a stone?

10. Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a ser-
pent?

11. If ye then, being evil, know how to give
good gifts unto your children, how much more
shall your Father which is in heaven give good
things to them that ask him?

Is God any less good than you? Then if you
would not consign any being to everlasting tor-
ment, do you think God will? If you, being a
good and all-wise physician, would not give
people sickness and deformity, do you think
God will?

Carry Jesus' reasoning to the greatest ex-

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treme of goodness, and realize that "of a verity
the will of the just man is the will of God."

The will of our Father is to give us every
good thing we ask. "But how shall we know
that our desire is a good thing?" asks the doubt-
ful one. How do we know that bread and fish
are good to eat, and not stones and serpents?
Just as we have sense and judgment to know our
bodily good, so we have perception and discern-
ment to know our soul good.

The heart that truly seeks God has good judg-
ment, and knows that what is good for God is
good for himself. "He shall have whatsoever he
saith."

A wise criterion for us to have in asking
"good things" of our Father is to ask for that
only which we are willing that all humanity shall
receive equally with us. For as we are willing to
give to men, so do we realize our Father's willing-
ness to give to us.

As you would have God act toward you, so
act toward all men. All thoughts, words, and

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deeds that we send forth to men return to us,
coming directly from men, or indirectly as a
decree or dispensation of our God. Therefore
Jesus summarizes all things in the great Golden
Rule.

THE GOLDEN RULE

12. Therefore all things whatsoever ye would
that men should do to you, do ye even so to them:
for this is the law and the prophets.

"For this is the law." As long as we are un-
der the law (and whoever believes in sinning and
being sinned against is under it) we must know
it to be absolutely exact and sure. Its principle
is the same one that lies back of every mechanical
law of action and reaction, of balancing, of reflec-
tion, of reciprocity. Jesus gave it in many other
forms: "With what measure ye mete, it shall be
measured to you/' "Give, and it shall be given
unto you," "Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven,"
"Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain

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mercy," "Judge not, and you shall not be
judged," "Condemn not, and you shall not be
condemned," "For with what judgment ye
judge, ye shall be judged," "They that take the
sword shall perish with the* sword."

Inexorable Law is cold, accurate, and un-
changeable as the laws of mathematics. No beg-
ging nor pleading can change its regular and
legitimate course. Paul gives it in full terms in
the words: "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall
he also reap."

"And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass,
than one tittle of the law to fail," says Jesus.

Therefore, while under the law, it behooves us
to sow only that seed which we are willing to
reap, to think of others as we would have them
think of us, to speak to all as we would be spoken
to, to do to others only what we would have done
to us.

The Golden Rule was not announced by Jesus
as a new law. Many have given it, because the
Christ speaks the same truth in all men:

ill

Do not to others what you would not like others to
do to you. Hillel, 50 B. c.

Act toward others as you would desire them to act
toward you. Isocrates, 338 B. c.

Do not to your neighbor what you would take ill
from him. Pittacus, 650 B. c.

We should conduct, ourselves toward others as we
would have them act toward us. Aristotle, 385 B. c.

What you wish your neighbors to be to you, such be
you to them. Sextus, 406 B. c.

Avoid doing what you would blame others for doing.
Tholes , 464 B. c.

Do unto another what you would have him do unto
you, and do not unto another what you would not have
him do unto you. Thou needest this law alone. It is
the foundation of all the rest. Confucius, 500 B. c.

"This is the law and the prophets." But "ye
are not under the law, but under grace" (Rom.
vi:14), and though the laws be as inevitable and
irrevocable as the famous laws of the Medes and
Persians, yet He who can make "the heavens
and the earth to pass" can also cause these laws
to fail. He is the Son of God.

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He who identifies himself with the Son
of God is free from the law, and is therefore
neither rewarded nor condemned, but comes into
the grace of Truth, which is freedom from the
laws of good and evil.

As Christ, Lord of Heaven and earth, can over-
rule physical laws, so also, when he is dominant
in our hearts, can he overrule the Mosaic laws
and the laws of heredity, destiny, and karma, and
we can enter into our inheritance, not because we
deserve it or have earned it, but because we are
the returned heir, the Son of the Most High God.

He who knows God is free from the law of destiny,
and is not subject to the evil one. Hermes Trismegistus.

THE WAY AND THE DOOR

13. Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is
the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to
destruction, and many there be which go in
thereat:

14- Because strait is the gate, and narrow is

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the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there
be that find it.

"The shortest distance between two points is
measured upon the straight line that joins them."
Between God and the devotee lies the one road
that joins them. It turns neither to the right nor
to the left (Deut. v: 32; Josh. i:7; Prov. iv:26,
27) , that is, neither to the good of the world, nor
to the evil. It knows neither good nor evil, but
God alone, and it is the only road by which the
traveler may come to the Gate which opens into
everlasting happiness.

The name of this road is Regeneration, the
orderly unfoldment, progress, and development
of the spiritual nature. Every step of the way is
identification with God — a continuously advanc-
ing consciousness and realization that ALL is
GOD. These steps are taken by daily, hourly,
practice of the presence of God, walking often
by faith and not by sight, and keeping the spirit-
ual senses ever on the alert to perceive and recog-
nize the Gate.

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Although the Way seems a succession of
stages and degrees, yet the devotee must faith-
fully deny the need, desirability, or reality of
growth, development, and all process of becom-
ing, for the Gate is reached by ceasing to believe
in progression. There is no becoming with God,
not even as the Son does God become. To ap-
pearance he was born and grew to manhood, yet
even then he knew I AM that I AM, and "Be-
fore Abraham was, I AM." Being is the true
state of the Self, therefore I AM is the Gate,
and not I was, or I shall be. I AM the way
(John xiv:6), and I AM the door (John x:9),
and I AM the one who goes through the door.
"He that entereth in by the door is the shepherd
of the sheep" (John x:2). "I AM the good
shepherd" (John x :11 ) .

No one can enter into the Heaven state of
mind and abide there at will, but he who knows,
as Jesus did, I AM the Son of God. Yes, knows
it, not by the intellect, nor by hearsay, but even
as God knows I AM God.

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You, in your true Self, the Christ of you, are
the Way, and the Door, and the One walking
the Way and entering the Door. The Truth
shows us that we are all that one Son, the only
begotten Son of God. There are not many sons
of God. It appears so, but it is a delusion, the
same kind as believing in "gods many, and lords
many."

In the false belief that we are "many," sepa-
rate from each other and apart from God, we are
walking the road that leads to destruction, that
is, death. But this sense of separation is de-
stroyed as we walk the Way of the Christ, and
we have but one consciousness as we pass through
the Gate : my neighbor and I are one, Christ and
I are one, the Father and I are one, for God is
all in all. "In that day there shall be one Lord,
and his name one" (Zech. xiv:9).

"By Me if any man enter in, he shall be
saved, and go in and out and find pasture"
(John x:9). Whoever enters into the realiza-
tion of Heaven through the knowledge, "I am

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the Son of God," can walk in perpetual joy and
power to do all the works of God when and
where he wills.

Many of us are entering from time to time into
ecstasies and temporal realizations of Heaven,
but are not going in at the Door. Climbing up
some other way, we do not stay in the fold, but
soon find ourselves thrust out like intruders, and
we know not how we got in or how we fell out.
So also many have performed great healing
works, but they cannot tell how they did them,
nor can they do them again, for they entered not
in at the strait gate, absolute knowledge of the
Principle of their being, and how to work by it.

"Wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that
leadeth to destruction." Every thought that con-
demns is destructive. Sins destroy. 'Belief in
sickness and death lead to destruction. Schisms
lie in this way, and all the sects that are founded
upon quarrels and Pharisaical separatism are in
this false way, whose end is the grave. All truth
is one, therefore whatever disunites and separates

117

has in it the elements * of error, and lies in the
broad way that leads from one sense of destroy-
ing to another — a continuous dead march.

The ways of death are hard (Prov. xiii:15),
and whoever is walking in them will never reach
Heaven until he leaves them. All roads do not
lead to Heaven. Men say "All roads lead to
Rome," but that is a fallacy. No race-track will
take you there. Also he who rides the circle of
sin and sickness, death and birth, may keep on
indefinitely, but he will never reach Heaven by
that road.

"The Way to Heaven is Heaven," and we may
know the road by its peace and its pleasantness
(Prov. iii:17). No temptation to be sorrowful,
to commit sin, or to believe in the reality of any
evil should draw us off from it.

If you are moved from the calm, holy, heal-

* The carnal mind and the spiritual mind are seen to act
in this way : the carnal always detects differences while the
spiritual notes similarities. Max Muller.

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ing, loving center of your being, you may know
you are upon a side track.

Quickly step back into Heaven.

How far from here to heaven?

Not very far, my friend.
A single hearty step will all

Thy journey end. Scheffler.

FAIR WORDS AND FALSE THINKING

15. Beware of false prophets, which come to
you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are
ravening wolves.

"Beware" (literally, "hold towards yourself")
is translated in other texts, "Take heed to your-
selves" (Matt. vi:l; Luke xvii:3, xxi:34, and so
forth), and signifies a fearless, careful watch-
fulness.

A prophet, in the Hebrew understanding of
the word, means not only one who foretells, but
one who exhorts, and publicly expounds and
preaches.

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Of all the kinds of false preachers, Jesus draws
attention to only one as needing especial watch-
fulness, the kind that speaks fair words, but
whose inward thoughts are not one with the
utterances of his lips. They come with the cloth-
ing, the outward form of the Lamb, symbol of
meekness, docility, harmlessness, purity, and non-
resistance; but covetousness, pride, lust, ambi-
tion, and cruelty are the untamed animals within,
the ravening wolves which you, as the good shep-
herd, should quickly discern if you would keep
your flock, spiritual thoughts, intact.

The words, "Take heed to yourselves," show
that the act concerns one's self principally. Look
out for the false prophets, evil thoughts, and
worldly beliefs in yourself. Be able to deal with
your own thoughts and suggestions, and you will
know how to look upon those of others.

By not allowing personal sense, or desire, to
have one's own will and way, or fear, or policy,
or greed of fame and gain, or any other false
motive to prompt us to use the arguments of

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Truth, we become wakeful and discerning dis-
ciples, and cannot be misled by the sophistries
and wrong deductions of others.

He who never deceives cannot be deceived.

He who seeks Truth with all his heart, just
for Truth's sake, will receive only the Truth, no
matter how false the lips that speak to him.

The spirit of Truth within opens the spiritual
senses to read the inmost thoughts of men, so
that the spiritual student knows all men, and
needs not that any should testify of man, for he
knows what is in man (John ii:24, 25) .

Nevertheless, to those who feel themselves still
liable to be led astray by false teachers the Master
says:

16. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do
men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

17. Even so every good tree bringeth forth
good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil
fruit.

18. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit,
neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

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19. Every tree that bringeth not forth good
fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

20. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know
them.

The fruits of a maft's thinking and speaking
are his actions.

Comparing him to a tree, his thoughts are the
roots, his words are the leaves, and his deeds are
the fruit. One may not be able to tell the char-
acter of two plants whose leaves are alike by ex-
amining the leaves, as, for instance, the deadly
nightshade and the tomato plant ; but he can turn
to their fruits, and there he is at once able to dis-
tinguish them.

What are the actions we should expect from
the true man? Paul tells us that the fruits of
the spirit are love, peace, patience, gentleness,
goodness, faith, meekness, temperance (Gal. v:
22, 23). Then the actions should be loving,
peaceful, patient, meek, temperate, and so forth.

So when a fair doctrine is preached, then let us
look to the lives of the preachers.

122

How does the prophet act when opposed or
interfered with? Is he then gentle and non-
resistant, as the Christ doctrine he teaches? or do
thorny-words and thistle-deeds follow?

Is he alike to all, and at all times? or does he
lead a double life, acting one way in public and
the opposite in private?

Does he exalt himself and depreciate others?

Does he in any way advocate or embody in his
life the works of the flesh enumerated so fully
by the apostle (Gal. v:19-21), such as adultery,
fornication, witchcraft, hatred, envyings, drunk-
enness, and so forth?

Again, there are other fruits that the Christ
bids us to expect of the true preacher of the
gospel. "These signs shall follow them that be-
lieve \^ In my name shall they cast out devils ; they
shall speak with new tongues ; they shall take up
serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it
shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the
sick, and they shall recover" (Mark xvi:17, 18).
Are these Christ-works following their doctrine?

123

or do they say these are not expected of us, and
belong to a past age? Have they the goal of the
full round life of Jesus here on earth, or do they
have simply "a form of godliness but denying
the power therof"? Read 2 Timothy, third
chapter, first to seventh verses.

The sins or errors of omission of the works of
Christ are the same deadly fruit as the sins of
commission of the works of evil. They may not
have the same active poison in them, but they are
like apples of Sodom, dust and ashes in the
mouth, a starvation diet that in the end produces
the same result as sins of commission — spiritual
deadness.

Whatever produces evil has its root in evil,
and whatever produces good is good. Good does
not come from evil, neither is evil undeveloped
good. Whatever is truly good always has been
good and always will be good, for Good is God,
the unchangeable One. So also all evil had its
origin in evil, and its end is evil, that is, pure
nothingness and annihilation.

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The good of every prophet is preserved, but
the false must be consumed. Every tree
(thought, word, and deed) that does not bear
good fruit is continually being cut down and
cast into the love-fire of God, and being returned
to the void from whence it came. "The fire shall
try every man's work of what sort it is. ...
If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer
loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by
fire" (1 Cor. iii:13, 15).

For no form of evil comes from God ; they are
all plants which He has not planted. "Every
plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted
shall be rooted up" (Matt. xv:13) .

21. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord,
Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven;
but he that doeth the will of my Father which is
in heaven.

Not everyone who is declaring Jesus Christ
to be his savior or his teacher shall enter into the
Kingdom of Heaven. For the Kingdom of
Heaven is a state of mind and heart, a conscious-

125

ness of peace and freedom, of eternal health and
life, of unlimited wisdom and changeless love.
"The kingdom of God cometh not with observa-
tion [or outward show] : neither shall they say,
Lo here ! or, lo there ! for, behold, the kingdom of
God is within you" (Luke xvii:20, 21).

Simply talking about Truth, or making state-
ments of Truth, is not sufficient to bring one into
this divine realization, this state of bliss called
the Kingdom of Heaven. One must live the life
of Truth, and do the will of God, in order to be
perfectly healed, and enjoy continuous peace and
prosperity.

Jesus Christ, by his life and teaching, reveals
to us the will of God. He says, "I came down
from heaven, inot to do mine own will, but the
will of him that sent me."

God, being unchangeable, has the same will
forever. Being no respecter of persons, he has
the same will for you and me that he had for
Jesus and the disciples. It is, to live the immacu-
late life of love through obeying every direction

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given by Jesus, and doing all the works he did,
healing, raising the dead, freeing people from
their sins, commanding the earthly elements, ex-
ercising our spiritual senses and finishing our
earthly existence by submerging it, without
death, into its divine reality. Your meat is to do
the will of him that sent you, and to finish his
work ( John iv : 34 ) .

WORKS WITHOUT LOVE

22. Many will say to me in that day, Lord,
Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and
in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name
done many wonderful works?

23. And then will I profess unto them, I
never knew you: depart from me, ye that work
iniquity.

"In that day." In this earthly school of ex-
perience examination-day comes to each aspirant
for heavenly honors; and to pass our examina-
tion, and not be sent back to the old grade of

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experiences to re-learn our lesson, we must be
well equipped with the one thing needful — LOVE
— that good part which cannot be taken from us.

The Highest Consciousness (Christ) cannot
enter into the disciple who omits love from his
aims, even though he be an adept in works of
healing and in miracles. This is enlarged upon
by Paul in his wonderful discourse upon Love
(1 Cor. xiii). He there reveals that one could
have the greatest eloquence, and yet, not having
love, be only like a beautiful musical instrument,
without any life in itself.

One may have occult knowledge so as "to un-
derstand all mysteries"; one may have a faith
that could heal case after case, "moving moun-
tains," and yet if he is neglecting to develop the
love-nature, these powers will fail him, and he
will need to return to the simplest study of the
life of love in order to enter into that joy of his
Lord to which his heart is aspiring.

It is prophesied (Joel ii:28) that "it shall
come to pass in the last days that I will pour out

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my spirit upon all flesh." Already a mighty
spiritual wave is rolling over us, and increasing
rapidly in volume and power, and as a result we
may begin to look for great and wonderful works
upon all sides. But unless these signs be accom-
panied with that love that thinketh no evil, they
will count for nothing to the discerning Truth
student.

Love will be the great test ; the love that is no
respecter of creeds or sects, that judges no man
and comes not to condemn the world, but that the
world through it might be saved.

Love is the Way.

Love is the Door, and no man can enter into
the Kingdom of Heaven but by Love.

HEARING AND DOING

S4- Therefore whosoever heareth these say-
ings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him
unto a wise man, which built his house upon a
rock:

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25. And the rain descended, and the floods
came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that
house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a
rock.

26. And every one that heareth these sayings
of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto
a foolish man, which built his house upon the
sand:

27. And the rain descended, and the floods
came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that
house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

"Whosoever heareth these sayings." The spir-
itual significance of "hearing" is understanding
and accepting. All those disciples of Truth who
are receiving its divine principles, and putting
them into practice in every department of their
daily lives, are building up a faith whose founda-
tion is solid, reliable, and substantial. For it is
a rock of demonstrated doctrine — Truth that has
been proven true.

The follower of Truth who has built his belief
upon that rock will not be overcome by the winds

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and floods of adversity, or sickness, or death.
When trials and tribulations assail him he will
be like a man in a secure house, who feels all the
more his safety, peace, and comfort when storms
rage around. "These things have I spoken unto
you, that in me ye may have peace. In the world
ye have tribulation : but be of good cheer ; I have
overcome the world" (John xvi:33, Revised Ver-
sion}.

While walking the Way of regeneration, we
may be tempted at times to believe in the
reality of evil, being assailed by the errors that
were once believed in — the sins, diseases, hard-
ships of the old earth-life. But whoever fulfills
all the commandments of Jesus Christ will come
out of every spiritual examination accredited
with a high mark, and instead of fearing or
dreading the problems of life, will see them only
as opportunities for proving where he stands,
how much he knows and can do by the grace and
omnipotence of God.

The science of God must be practiced as f aith-

131

fully and efficiently as any material science. No
Christian should consider his spiritual education
finished unless he can do all the works of Christ.

A good mathematician is not content to rest
in a theory of his science; he not only acquaints
himself with all the principles of his science, but
he examines into the rules and methods discov-
ered and invented by other mathematicians and
experts, especially if he is to be a master in it,
so as to be able to do every problem that has ever
been worked by anyone, and, if possible, more.
The aspiration of every true Christian should be
the same.

Can you raise the dead? Can you control the
elements, stilling the winds and the waves with
your word? If we cannot heal every case that is
brought to us, let us not supinely mesmerize our-
selves into the thought that it is not expected of
us, but let us get more understanding, more
faith, more love, more application. All things
are possible to him that believeth.

He is but a theoretical Truth-seeker who is

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saying of Jesus' commands that any are too
transcendental or impracticable. Such a one is
building his religious life upon a poor founda-
tion, that will fail him when he needs it most.

The comparison which Jesus makes between
the two kinds of followers of Truth is again made
in the parable of the Ten Virgins. The foolish
man who hears and does not, is like the foolish
virgins who had their lamps but were unprovided
with sufficient oil.

Many are now hearing the words of Christ
and are expecting to demonstrate all that he did?
even to the overcoming of death. But how can
we do all the works unless we obey all the direc-
tions? How can you, earnest healer, expect to
heal every patient and still hold hatred in your
heart toward anyone or anything, and even jus-
tify it in yourself? How can you, wise teacher
though you be, expect to overcome death when
you do not take Christ's teachings of living a
sexless life, which is the very keystone of that
attainment (Luke xx: 35, 36 ; Matt, xix: 12) ?

Sermon on

Jesus Christ has given us every essential di-
rection that must be known and obeyed in order
to be completely emancipated from the mis-
takes, sorrows, and sufferings of the realm of
delusion. He indorsed many of the teachings
of the sages that had preceded him, and where
spiritual masters seem to disagree or to be ob-
scure he has forever settled each important point>
so that there may be no uncertainty in the minds
of those who have ears to hear.

Under the name of Christ every impersonal,
universal follower of Truth who seeks It for Its
own sake is willing and ready to rally, that there
may be perfect unity among all those who wor-
ship the true God.

The wise men of all generations and races are
the powers that are ruling the nations of the
earth, and they have chosen One to represent
them, Jesus Christ, who is to be the central stand-
ard about which every other independent -one is
gathering through concentrating upon His name,
life, and words.

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The Truth is being presented in all ways and
by all means to reach the hearts of even the
dullest, and each, as he rises in the scale of under-
standing, and becomes universal in love and wis-
dom, will know and appreciate Jesus Christ as
God-with-us in fullness of manifestation, even as
he, himself, prophesied: "It is written in the
prophets, And they shall be all taught of God.
Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath
learned of the Father, cometh unto me" (John
vi : 45 ) .

Then when all have been gathered together
under one name, Jesus Christ's work will have
been done, and even that name, which has been
above every other name, will be erased, that the
Lord whose name is One may be all in all (Zech.
xiv:9).

"Then cometh the end, when he shall have de-
livered up the kingdom to God, even the Father ;
when he shall have put down all rule and all au-
thority and power. For he must reign, till he
hath put all enemies under his feet. The last

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enemy that shall be destroyed is death. . . .
And when all things shall be subdued unto him,
then shall the Son also himself be subject unto
him that put all things under him, that God may
be aJ] in all'5 (1 Cor. xv: 24-28).

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